Is malpractice insurance the same as professional liability insurance

What’s the difference between Professional Liability vs. Malpractice Insurance? These types of coverage deal with dissatisfied patients but in different ways.

Why Do Healthcare Professionals Need Insurance?

Healthcare professionals need insurance for these primary reasons:

• Meet legal obligations – Each state determines legal requirements for healthcare professionals licensed in the state.
• Pay for lawsuits – Doctors get sued by patients all the time, but having the right insurance pays legal costs, including settlements.
• Good image with patients – Having insurance in place makes patients feel comfortable that their doctor adheres to professional standards.

Since any doctor can get sued by an unhappy patient, it’s important to have insurance to pay legal costs instead of paying out of pocket.

What Is Malpractice Insurance?

Medical malpractice insurance falls under the category of Errors & Omissions (E&O) liability insurance. It was actually developed for the healthcare industry and has since spread to other fields. Malpractice insurance covers losses associated with a human body that lead to lawsuits. The primary reason healthcare professionals should carry malpractice insurance is due to the high rate of medical errors.

What Is Professional Liability Insurance?

Professional Liability is another type of E&O insurance. What sets it apart from Malpractice insurance is that it focuses on financial loss rather than physical loss. An example of Professional Liability vs. Malpractice Insurance is when a consultant gives bad advice to a patient that leads to financial loss, it can become a Professional Liability lawsuit. However, if a surgeon removes the wrong body part, it would be a Malpractice case.

What Should You Get as a Healthcare Professional?

Different insurance plans exist for different positions in the healthcare industry. Not all healthcare jobs pose physical risks to patients, but the ones involved directly with the physical care of patients potentially do. As with all professions, the higher the risk, the more coverage is needed.

Doctors/Surgeons

Doctors and surgeons should carry Medical Malpractice coverage. There are several ways doctors can make mistakes, such as diagnosing a disease incorrectly or failing to identify a medical problem.

Dentists

Just like doctors, dentists can misunderstand and extract something from the body that should have been left alone. A dentist can extract the wrong tooth, which can make a patient so unhappy they file a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical Directors

A variety of health-conscious businesses hire medical directors that should carry malpractice insurance. Health spas, walk-in clinics, and chiropractors often hire medical directors, who specifically need to carry Medical Director Liability insurance.

Nurse Practitioners

Part of what’s attracting the growth of nurse practitioners is that less schooling is needed to become one compared to the career path of a physician. Nurse practitioners should carry out Medical Malpractice, but if they serve as consultants to professionals, they may just need Professional Liability coverage.

Massage Therapists

It’s still possible to get sued despite not prescribing medication or performing surgery. Some massage therapists use oil or hot stones in their therapy, which can potentially injure a patient. It’s essential for massage therapists to carry Medical Malpractice insurance.

Get the Right Coverage with J Archer Insurance Group

Understanding Professional Liability vs. Malpractice Insurance is key for healthcare professionals to get the right insurance coverage. Contact us today at J. Archer Insurance Group and tell us about your medical practice. We will help build the right plan for your protection against cases involving physical and financial loss.

Professional Liability Insurance Vs. Malpractice Insurance, what are the main differences?

As a an attorney or title agent, you probably know that it’s in your best interest to have adequate E&O insurance in place to protect you and your business should a mistake happen that affects a client. When looking into your insurance options or even in conversations with other professionals, you may have run across these two terms: professional liability insurance and malpractice insurance. Have you ever wondered if they are the same or just which one is right for your firm or agency?

If you don’t know the actual meaning of these terms or what makes them different, we are here to help. Let’s break down the basics of professional liability insurance and malpractice insurance to help you understand the differences and uses between these two forms of insurance.

What is Professional Liability Insurance?

Professional liability insurance (PLI) is a type of insurance designed to protect professionals such as lawyers and title agents in the event that a client claims that they were financially harmed as a result of errors and omissions made by the professional in the delivery of service.

A client could sue you if they feel the services they were promised were not properly provided. It also provides protection if you haven’t made a mistake, but a disgruntled client has filed a claim because their expectations were not met or they were dissatisfied with your service. Most professional liability insurance policies only provide coverage for financial or economic losses suffered by clients, as opposed to property damage or bodily injury.

Common professional liability claims professionals face include:

• Negligence
• Breach of duty
• Misrepresentation
• Breach of contract
• Misleading clients
• Failure to deliver a promised service on time
• Errors or omissions
• Incomplete work
• Undelivered services
• Budget overruns

Who Needs Professional Liability Insurance?

While professional liability insurance is a type of business insurance, not everyone may need it. This type of insurance coverage is a must-have for firms and agencies that provide professional services to customers or clients.

This list includes, but is not limited to:

• Attorneys
• Title Agencies
• Insurance brokers
• Counselors
• Consultants
• Financial advisers
• Engineers
• Architects
• Real estate agents
• Accountants
• Contractors
• Technology professionals
• Advertising agencies

Creative professionals, such as beauty technicians, interior designers, photographers, graphic designers, and writers may want to consider professional liability insurance as well.

Broadly speaking, PLI is designed for anyone who has special training or knowledge in some professional activity. It’s for anyone who holds themselves out to be an expert in certain areas.

What is Malpractice Insurance?

Malpractice insurance is a specialized type of insurance that provides coverage to healthcare professionals for liability claims filed by their patients. Though there are some attorneys that carry malpractice insurance, the best known for is medical malpractice insurance.

When working on a human body, there’ll always be a risk that someone could get hurt. With the potential for errors being high in the healthcare field, having this type of insurance is essential. In fact, carrying malpractice insurance is required by law in most states.

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, healthcare professional, or medical facility causes injury or death to a patient through a negligent act or omission. The negligence might be the result of errors or omissions in diagnosis, treatment, or aftercare.

Medical malpractice insurance provides protection against claims arising from:

• A breach of doctor-patient confidentiality
• Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis
• Surgical errors
• Unnecessary surgery
• Medication errors
• Anesthesia administration mistakes
• Childbirth-related injuries
• Failure to diagnose symptoms
• Ignoring or misreading laboratory results
• Premature discharge
• Poor aftercare
• Bodily injury
• Delayed treatment

Along with other similar charges. Injury costs related to medical malpractice can be extremely excessive. As such, a malpractice insurance policy might prove critical.

Who Needs Malpractice Insurance?

Generally, any provider of healthcare services needs malpractice insurance. This includes:

• Physicians
• Surgeons
• Medical students and residents
• Nurses and nurse practitioners
• Advanced practitioners
• Paramedics
• Physical therapists
• Optometrists
• Dentists
• Anesthesiologists
• Psychologists
• Allied staff

The Difference Between Professional Liability Insurance and Malpractice Insurance

The difference between these forms of insurance is that professional liability insurance covers damages for a wide range of professionals. Conversely, malpractice insurance is specifically designed to protect healthcare workers from the unique risks they face. For example, a surgeon faces a much greater potential risk of causing injury to another person during a complex procedure.

Professional liability insurance and medical malpractice insurance have something in common: they cover legal defense expenses, as well as any settlement or judgment.

Get a Quick Quote for Professional Liability Insurance

We are all human and sometimes we make mistakes. And even without mistakes, all it takes is for one unsatisfied client filing a lawsuit to ruin your business. At Attorneys First Insurance, we’re here to help you protect your firm or agency in advance.

We offer competitive professional liability insurance policies exclusively for title agents and lawyers. We understand your business’s unique needs and are here to customize your coverage to meet those needs. If you’re looking for the right coverage at the right price, contact us today get a quick quote to find the best rate for your E&O insurance.