The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Tail Insurance Protects Against Medical Malpractice Claims from Previous Jobs

Tail Insurance Protects Against Medical Malpractice Claims from Previous Jobs

February 1, 2013 • By Steven M. Harris, Esq.

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Steven M. Harris, Esq.
Steven M. Harris, Esq.

Is your medical malpractice insurance provided by your employer? Are you switching jobs? Are you looking for a new job? Are you in the market to purchase a malpractice insurance policy? Are you planning to retire soon? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you likely need to consider whether “tail” insurance (also known as a reporting endorsement) is in your near future.

You Might Also Like
  • What Physicians Should Know Before Leaving a Medical Practice
  • Clean Claims Equal Prompt Payment
  • 1% of U.S. Doctors Responsible for a Third of Malpractice Payments
Explore This Issue
February 2013
Also By This Author
  • The Doctor Will See You Now: Legal & Regulatory Reforms Expand Telemedicine

Now is the time to dust off your employment agreement and malpractice insurance policy and review what happens in the event a medical malpractice claim is brought against you after you leave your current employer. This means paying special attention to whether your malpractice insurance policy provides for claims-made or occurrence-based coverage, and, if it’s the former, who is responsible for purchasing tail coverage.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

When Do I Need Tail Coverage?

Whether you are resigning, retiring, or have been terminated, tail insurance should be a key consideration. If you are leaving a place of employment (regardless of your reason for leaving) that has claims-made professional liability insurance, your insurance coverage may not be seamless to your next job. Instead, tail or similar coverage is required. Claims-made coverage protects against professional negligence as long as a two-part test is met: first, you must have the claims-made coverage in place when the negligent act occurs (with Employer #1) and, second, you must be covered by the same carrier when you are notified of the claim while employed by Employer #2. If either prong is not satisfied, the current claims-made insurance policy will not provide you with coverage in the event a lawsuit is filed for an act of negligence that took place while you were employed by Employer #1. The majority of malpractice insurance policies written for medical practices are for claims-made coverage.

If, however, you leave a place of employment with occurrence-based professional liability insurance, your insurance coverage is seamless and no tail insurance is required.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Here is a common example of what happens when a physician leaves a place of employment with claims-made professional liability insurance coverage: A practice maintains claims-made professional liability insurance coverage for its physicians with ABC Insurance Co. A physician decides to leave the practice and is now employed by a new practice, which maintains claims-made coverage with XYZ Insurance Co. While employed by the new employer, the physician receives notice that a medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed for a procedure the physician performed while employed by the former practice. By leaving the former practice, the departing physician automatically fails the two-part test for claims-made coverage, since the second prong described above is not satisfied. Therefore, even though the physician has liability coverage through the new employer, that insurance policy will not cover the lawsuit. There is a gap in liability coverage, unless the physician has tail insurance to cover lawsuits related to the former employment.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Legal, Practice Management Tagged With: employment contract, malpractice claim, Practice Management, tail insuranceIssue: February 2013

You Might Also Like:
  • What Physicians Should Know Before Leaving a Medical Practice
  • Clean Claims Equal Prompt Payment
  • 1% of U.S. Doctors Responsible for a Third of Malpractice Payments
  • How to Appropriately Discharge a Patient to Avoid Abandonment, Medical Malpractice

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)