anesthesia locums and malpractice insurance

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ecf1975do

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I am finishing up my residency and am going the locums route...
I am quite concerned about the type of malpractice insurance that is offered
by these agencies. I am becoming more versed on the 2 different types.
For anyone that has done locums could you please shed some light on this issue...either publically respond or PM me. I just dont want to get screwed down the line for not asking the right questions and signing on the dotted line...
what kind of tail/extended reporting period coverage do most of these companies offer???

thanks!
 
There are two types of policies that can be written for your Professional Liability--Claims Made and Occurrence. It is in my opinion that an occurrence policy is the best choice between the two because there is no tail coverage needed.

Another important aspect of the policy to understand is how suits are settled. There are carriers that word their contracts so that they can settle a suit without the physician's consent.

I would be more than happy to talk to you more in depth about the coverage options that are out there. You can PM me for my e-mail/phone.
 
I am finishing up my residency and am going the locums route...
I am quite concerned about the type of malpractice insurance that is offered
by these agencies. I am becoming more versed on the 2 different types.
For anyone that has done locums could you please shed some light on this issue...either publically respond or PM me. I just dont want to get screwed down the line for not asking the right questions and signing on the dotted line...
what kind of tail/extended reporting period coverage do most of these companies offer???

thanks!


If you could divulge... what made you do the locums route?
 
Agree with above. Also choice of counsel is something that most cheapo policies that locum agencies offer is probably not an option but is desirable. I am not to familiar with working locums, but buying your own malpractice policy is an option that some docs do. For the additional hassle you can frequently negotiate a higher pay rate from a hospital or anesthesia group as you are cutting out the middle man (the agency) It does seem to me that those who go this route are a little more savy business wise.

Doing locum without the agency may be possible in one state if you have a part time job at one institution and are looking to make more money at some nearby hospitals on a regular basis.

Other than a few special situations, Buying a malpractice police for every assignment would be way too expensive, next to impossible, and it would be difficult to do in a timely manner. Different carriers cover different states so when you went to another state you would have to purchase a tail, which is often two and a half to three years of premiums. Most carriers do not sell occurrence malpractice and when it is sold it is not cheap.

MDA claims to offer occurrence malpractice, the others don't. I do not think this is much of an issue, unless you are working for a tiny fly by night locum's agency that is going bankrupt. The big players have lots of jobs so if you keep to just those companies and know who you are dealing with it shouldn't be an issue. All the hospitals and malpractice carriers that, I applied for privileges at, have used locums so they were satisfied that I had malpractice simply by listing that I had Comp Health malpractice policy or Locum Tennams Malpractice policy. I keep a copy of ever correspondence and email, so if the agency doesn't buy your malpractice you will have email promising it and it will be in the contract you sign so when you get sued you can play victim and claim you were taken advantage of, there for they should go after someone else with deeper pockets.
 
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