How to Secure Business Insurance For Physician Assistants
Physician assistants play an important role in the medical ecosystem, providing both medical and non-medical services that significantly impact health outcomes. However, as a physician’s assistant, you face several risks. Some are unique to this career path.
For instance, if something goes wrong in a patient’s journey, it could lead to allegations of malpractice. Relying solely on your employer’s insurance coverage may not suffice to meet your own needs. This is where purchasing Business Insurance for Physician assistants becomes essential to protect both your practice and your financial status.
Let's delve into the potential risks that physician’s assistants face, explore the various types of insurance that can provide protection, and determine the associated costs:
Potential Liabilities Of Physician Assistants
- You have been providing consultations to patients for several weeks. But they are dissatisfied with the treatment and are now contemplating to sue you for negligence.
- A patient visits your clinic and sustains an injury during the appointment. They seek compensation for medical expenses.
- There is a theft in your clinic resulting in the loss of expensive medical equipment.
- You need to replace the equipment to run your practice unhindered.
- You accidentally break some equipment at your employer’s medical facility while attending to a patient. You need to pay for the damage, which amounts to a substantial value.
- While traveling to a medical facility, your vehicle meets with an accident with an uninsured motorist. You are liable to pay for the repair of your vehicle.
- One of your staff members trips and sustains a permanent shoulder injury during their work shift. They need to receive compensation for medical expenses and disability benefits.
Physician Assistant (PA) Insurance covers you in all these scenarios by facilitating payment for various costs including attorney fees and medical compensation.
Important Insurance Categories
Medical professionals can benefit by including the following types of insurance in their Physician Assistant Insurance policy.
General Liability Insurance
This type of insurance protects your business from third-party lawsuits. As a physician's assistant, you work with various stakeholders. These include patients, staffing agencies, physicians, and medical facilities. General liability insurance helps pay for legal defense fees, the cost of witness testimony, and court fees. It can also cover judgments, or settlements if you decide to settle out of court. Claims may include accidents and bodily injuries sustained by a third party in your clinic premises, or home. You may be sued for property damage to someone else’s property. A third party may also accuse your practice of slander and libel against their business (known as advertising injury.
Physician Assistant Liability Insurance
This is an important type of insurance that protects your practice from allegations related to malpractice. Even if your practice is not at fault you must be prepared to consult a lawyer. The defense process can be expensive and long-drawn, but a necessity to protect your reputation and any potential financial fallout. Physician assistant liability insurance can help pay for defense costs, and settlements/ judgments. The common claims covered by professional liability insurance include negligence, undelivered services, missed lines, and inaccurate advice.
Commercial Property Insurance
Physician assistants may have their own clinics, or provide service from a home clinic. Depending upon their specialty, they may possess expensive equipment, electronic appliances, furniture, and other types of property that are relevant to their practice. Access to commercial property insurance helps when the property gets damaged and needs to be repaired or replaced to ensure uninterrupted operations. It covers the damage to or theft of medical tools, equipment, furniture and furnishings, inventory and owned buildings. Causes for damage or loss include vandalism, theft, fire, wind damage, lightning, and smoke. However, employee theft, equipment malfunctioning, and destruction due to earthquakes and floods are not covered. Physician assistants can also consider taking a business owner’s policy, which is a combination of commercial property and general liability.
Workers Compensation Insurance
If you employ support staff, then worker’s compensation insurance is mandatory. This type of insurance protects employees in case of injuries or illnesses sustained on the job. If an employee gets injured in the workplace, they can claim compensation for medical expenses, therapy, lost wages, and disability benefits. Workers' compensation insurance also helps pay for funeral expenses and financial support for the next of kin.
Commercial Auto Insurance
If your practice involves owned or rented vehicles, then commercial auto insurance is relevant. This type of insurance can help cover claims of property damage, bodily injuries, medical expenses, collision, uninsured or underinsured motorist, and no-fault coverage. However, it does not cover the loss of property when it is moving from one location to another (which is covered by inland marine insurance).
The Cost of Physician Assistants Insurance
The following factors can impact the cost of your insurance policy:
- The extent of coverage involving your existing employers
- The number of organizations and clients served by you
- The type of organizations you partner with, and their client profile
- If you also see patients at your premises
- The number of support staff hired by you
- The nature of your specialization, and its role in the medical ecosystem
- The physical risk profile of your job - for instance, if you work in prisons or war zones, the risk will be higher
Key Takeaways
Business Insurance for Physician Assistants is an indispensable safeguard that shields your practice from various pitfalls. To ensure comprehensive protection, it's crucial to select the appropriate coverage amount and insurance categories, and you can achieve this with the guidance of a seasoned insurance provider who understands your unique requirements. So, for in-depth insights and valuable information, please visit the Insurance Advisor blog, or explore our website.