Malpractice insurance

[outptpsych]

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I'm in my last year of residency and will be working full time 40 hrs per week inpatient psychiatry at a medical center where my malpractice ins will be covered. I will also be working about 5-10 hours/week doing private practice outpatient work (mainly therapy but some med management) on the side. I will need to purchase malpractice insurance for the outpatient work. Any ideas on relatively inexpensive malpractice insurance for working just part-time. thanks.

 

[F0nzie]

American Professional through the APA

 

[Shikima]

What kind of pricing did you get Fonz? If you feel comfortable sharing.....
Was there any kind of shopping done to compare prices?

 

[F0nzie]

3k per year for PT. I don't remember the names of the other companies I looked at but that was the cheapest.

 

[Shikima]

3k per year for PT. I don't remember the names of the other companies I looked at but that was the cheapest.

Occurrence based?

 

[F0nzie]

Occurrence based?

Good question.... I don't know lol

 

[outptpsych]

maybe i'm looking wrong, but the rates i'm finding are way cheaper and they seem to be 50% off for part-time. perhaps that is b/c i will be in my first year out of training.

 

[heyjack70]

The first year will be the cheapest and will increase for a certain number of years based on the actuarial risk. The problem I found was part time meant 20 hours or less. If you only work 5 hours a week, there is no cheaper option than the 20 hour price. Definitely call multiple companies, and if you can talk to a business savvy older doc in private practice they can usually give you good advice, as in, cheapest is not necessarily best. And I emphasize business savvy because I have met a few solo psychiatrists that seem to be hemorrhaging money, though providing great patient care.

 

[keifernny2]

If you plan to keep the same policy, and renew annually, you don't necessarily need a tail until you change your practice. You can choose to buy it later. Some policies give you tail automatically if you maintain the policy for a certain number of years.

Price also depends highly on geographic are where you're working (even by neighboring counties).

 

[PikminOC]

Dont forget if use the APA you have to be a member. That costs too

 

[mgdsh]

If you're in California, I'd recommend CAP

http://www.capphysicians.com/

My PT rate first year out was $1k

Plus they have great support and other products which are no-brainers. They have a CAP physicians disability program. I think mine because of age and health was $30 a month for $10k a month in disability coverage.

 

[TexasPhysician]

The Doctor's Company

 

[Doctor Bagel]

bumping an old thread. Any new opinions/thoughts. It looks like APA might have the most discounts, but yes, I've got to join the APA again to qualify.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

bumping an old thread. Any new opinions/thoughts. It looks like APA might have the most discounts, but yes, I've got to join the APA again to qualify.

OK, bumping from yesterday. What are people's thoughts on occurrence versus claims made policies. Claims made start out much cheaper, but you're stuck with that potential tail issue. After 5 years, claims made and occurrence seem to cost about the same. I can see the appeal in starting off with a super cheap policy (and yeah, it looks potentially super cheap with discounts and whatnot). What do you guys have?

 

[PikminOC]

Occurrence all the way.

 

[F0nzie]

OK, bumping from yesterday. What are people's thoughts on occurrence versus claims made policies. Claims made start out much cheaper, but you're stuck with that potential tail issue. After 5 years, claims made and occurrence seem to cost about the same. I can see the appeal in starting off with a super cheap policy (and yeah, it looks potentially super cheap with discounts and whatnot). What do you guys have?

You need to connect with a malpractice provider and ask them these specific questions. For example, I have a claims made policy that will automatically pay for my tail after 10 years of no claims. Or once I'm over the age of 55 and I retire they will pay the tail. An occurrence policy would cost me around 1k more per year.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Occurrence all the way.

Yeah, I get the appeal in that you're done and don't ever have to worry about a tail. It's a lot more expensive, though, especially upfront. We're also the least likely group of doctors to get sued, so there's that.

 

[PikminOC]

Helps me sleep at night.
Priceless!

 

[heyjack70]

You've got to run the numbers and estimate how long you'll be with that insurance company. Look for tail payoff benefits. I had one year of malpractice for moonlighting. The occurrence was about $2500. Claims made was $700 up front plus about $1700 for tail after one year. So $100 less overall than occurrence.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You've got to run the numbers and estimate how long you'll be with that insurance company. Look for tail payoff benefits. I had one year of malpractice for moonlighting. The occurrence was about $2500. Claims made was $700 up front plus about $1700 for tail after one year. So $100 less overall than occurrence.

Good point. If you're not likely to stick with your insurance provider, it sounds like occurrence makes more sense.

Good thing the differences while significant are not huge, at least in most states. I was looking at the APA rates for each state, and I'm glad I don't practice in Florida.