Comments on: What is the deal about doctors having insurance?

By: Insurance Pickle.com

Insurance Pickle.com — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:56:59 +0000

Alot of doctors stop the OB part of the OB/GYN practice because a six figure insurance isn't uncommon. SO, if doctors couldn't be sued for astronomical amounts, then their insurance wouldn't be so expensive, they could charge less for their services, and we'd pay and the insurance company would pay less.
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By: Not I

Not I — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 11:32:59 +0000

Not just doctors but the nurses also.
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By: mbrcatz

mbrcatz — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:55:59 +0000

You’re talking about medical malpractice insurance.

There’s no law that says a doctor has to carry it, but no hospital will let a doctor work there, unless they have it.

How much they pay, depends on a HUGE variety of factors. For MEDICAL doctors, I’ve never seen a premium under $15,000, and that’s only for the low risk, family doctor, no surgery in office type doctors. For high risk practices like obstetrics, or neural surgery, it can EASILY cost more than $100,000. A YEAR.
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By: Insurancetips

Insurancetips — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:26:59 +0000

This is also called the Professional Liability insurance. They need to have this insurance to protect themselves in-case of any error that happens or any negligence that is committed. If you open up a medical journal or look into the news- you would know that the cases of liability filled against the doctors are very high. The awards given by the Courts for settlement of these claims is also very high. There are constantly cases of reactions or prescription of the wrong medicines for one.

The rate for this would also depend upon the state in which they practice since each state has different norms, secondly it would depend upon the doctor’s specialization – surgeons and plastic surgeons pay the highest since the liability against them can be very high because of any error on their part. There are only certain companies which offer this coverage : Aviva Chubb to name a few.
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Underwriter

By: Steve D

Steve D — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:06:59 +0000

Yes, doctors have to carry malpractice insurance. The premiums vary depending upon the doctor's specialty with OB-GYN and Anesthesiologists being charged quite high premiums (sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year) as these professions tend to have more claims.
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