It is so tempting to jump at the lowest price when purchasing your medical malpractice insurance. But, as someone who has had a bad house fire, I know firsthand that, in the event of a loss or a lawsuit, you will be grateful that you are insured by the best medical malpractice insurance company, even if the malpractice insurance premium is not the lowest. And, the chances of being sued during your career are excellent. Just ask a physician who thought it could never happen to him.
There are several reasons why the lowest price medical malpractice insurance may not be best for you:
- The medical malpractice insurance company may not be strong. It may be “buying” your malpractice insurance business. This is a shaky practice, but one that we see often. Several years ago, there were over 40 medical malpractice insurers in the state of Florida. Now there is only a handful of medical malpractice insurance companies. If a malpractice insurance company is trying to carve out a spot in the marketplace by undercutting the major malpractice insurance companies, it may very well be “gone tomorrow”, forcing you to shop for another carrier.
- The medical malpractice insurance policy may be deficient. The company may have a substandard “trigger” for a claim. It may not include the “extras” such as DPR defense or cyber liability coverage.
- Legal protection may be sub-par. Securing the best medical malpractice defense attorneys is very expensive. So is the business of hiring the best expert witnesses. Attorneys need to be trained in the nuances of medical malpractice defense—different from other forms of defense. Cheap insurance could well indicate inferior claims defense habits.
Our medical malpractice insurance carriers are often the most competitively priced. Sometimes they are in the middle of the pack. Sometimes they are the most expensive. We can promise you this: we always choose to represent quality regardless of price. The least expensive choice at the time of application may turn out to be the most expensive choice at the time of loss.
