If you’re a physician, then medical liability insurance is a must; however, not all medical professionals are considered physicians. For example, nurses, dentists, and physical therapists are not considered physicians, yet they still deal with some of the same potential liability risks that physicians deal with. These professionals are considered Allied health workers and can be grouped into three categories: primary care workers, diagnostic professionals, or health promotion, administrative, and rehabilitative workers. It’s estimated that around 60 percent of all of the medical professionals in the country are Allied health professionals. Massachusetts Allied health insurance helps provide coverage for such medical professionals.
Who Needs Allied Health Insurance?
There are many different individuals and organizations that need Allied health insurance. Here are a few of examples of who needs to purchase Massachusetts Allied health insurance coverage:
Organizations That Seek Allied Health Insurance
Many organizations purchase Allied health insurance to cover their medical teams and their specific services. This includes urgent care facilities, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmacies.
Common Individual Professions That Seek Allied Health Insurance
Many professionals also need Allied health insurance. Some of the common professions that seek Allied health insurance include dental assistants, first aid trainers, nurses, nutritionists, occupational therapists, X-ray technicians, wellness counselors, and more.
Is Allied Health Insurance Required by Law?
Allied health professionals are required to have medical malpractice insurance (also known as professional liability insurance) by law in the state of Massachusetts. As an Allied health professional, according to state law you will need to have a minimum of $100,000 per occurrence as well as at least $300,000 aggregate per policy period in medical malpractice insurance.
Adult Day Care Facilities
Any type of adult care facility will need Allied health insurance that provides liability coverage for its caregivers. They will be held accountable for the health of the patients who are left in their care. Ensure that you’re covered against claims of negligence as well as claims of alleged abuse.
Home Healthcare Agencies
If you provide healthcare to patients in-home, protect yourself against claims of negligence as well as against potential property damage. You or your caregivers are at risk for things like taking care of patients’ homes or driving patients around during the time in which the patient is in your care.
Diagnostic Laboratories
Mistakes made in the lab can lead to diagnostic errors, which can cause physicians to misdiagnose potentially serious conditions, making it difficult to properly treat their patients. Such mistakes can be labeled as negligence as they can result in the harm of a patient.
Substance Abuse Recovery Centers
If you run a substance abuse recovery center, be sure you’re properly covered since you are providing professional treatment and counseling to patients. If these patients relapse, there’s always the chance that they may try to sue for negligence if they believe the treatment or counseling you provided did not help with their sobriety or made it more difficult to remain sober.
Make Sure Your Business is Protected
If you’re an Allied health professional or you have a business that provides Allied health services, it’s critical that your business is protected against potential liability lawsuits. Even a minor mistake on the part of one of your staff members could result in a claim of negligence, resulting in a potentially significant settlement requirement that could bankrupt your business.
Our Allied Health Insurance Provides a Variety of Liability Coverage
Here at Click Insurance, our Allied health insurance policies provide a variety of different liability coverage options, including the following:
General Liability
General liability coverage is something every business needs. It helps protect you against anyone who might be injured on your premises. Visitors and patients alike expect that you will take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety on your property. If they’re injured on your property, they can sue.
Professional Liability
Professional liability helps cover potential medical malpractice suits. Even if you don’t have employees and you run your own business, professional liability insurance is a must, no matter how confident you are in your abilities. Professional Liability is required by law in Massachusetts. Beyond provision of care, even mistakes in certain professional paperwork can lead to a claim.
Employment Practice Liability
Besides protecting yourself against potential patient lawsuits, you’ll also want to protect your business against employment practice liability. This includes wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation lawsuits.
Non-Medical Claims
Not all lawsuits originate from medical-related claims. For example, if you run an adult daycare center, protect yourself against potential abuse claims. Other non-medical claims can include medical billing errors that led to overcharging.
You Could Be At Risk For These Kinds of Claims if You Are Not Insured
The following are just a few of the risks that you will be exposed to if you do not have the proper Allied health insurance for your business:
A Patient or Employee is Hurt on Your Premises
Accidental injuries can occur due to something as minor as slips and falls. If a patient or employee, for example, slips on a wet spot on your floor that wasn’t wiped up right away, you could be held liable for any injuries they may experience.
Private Information is Leaked Via Data Breach or Social Media
Patient information can include things like medical records, social security numbers, and credit card information, all of which can be used to commit insurance fraud or to steal someone’s identity. Because of this, there are very strict HIPAA medical privacy regulations that you must follow. If there’s a data breach because your system wasn’t secure enough and private information is stolen, you will be held liable for not having taken the necessary precautions to secure your patient data. The same goes for data is accidentally leaked onto social media.
A Crime or Theft is Committed on Your Property
You are responsible for the safety of your employees and of your patients. If a crime is committed on your property resulting in an injury, you could be held liable. You’ll be held liable for any thefts that might occur on your property as well. Patients will have personal property with them, which you’ll be responsible for while they are in your care. Without proper insurance, you can be financially liable for any crimes or thefts that occur on your property.
Allegations of Abuse Come Against Your Organization
Even if you think you run a tight ship, there’s always a chance that someone in your organization is charged with allegations of abuse. This is more likely to happen if you run a facility that takes care of patients, such as a substance abuse recovery center or an adult daycare facility. Situations like this are beyond your control, which is why you need to have insurance.
Click Insurance Can Provide Custom Coverage
One of the advantages of working with us at Click Insurance is that we can customize your Allied health insurance policy to meet your unique needs.
Our Representatives Will Help You Assess Your Liability Risks
Every Allied health profession and organization has different liability risks to address. We can help assess what your liability risks are and determine what kind of coverage you need.
We Can Custom Tailor The Type of Coverage You Need
While some insurance agents can only provide a few different Allied health insurance policies that may not have all the coverage you need or that may include coverage that you don’t need, we can customize your plan so that you’re only paying for the coverage you want.
We Have Access To More Insurance Partners
Our ability to find the right coverage for you and to custom tailor your Massachusetts Allied health insurance plan is the direct result of our many partnerships with some of the top insurance providers in the country. We have access to countless coverage options because we have relationships with so many national and local insurance carriers.
We’ll Structure the Right Price Point for You
Because we have access to so many different coverage options from so many different insurance carriers, it means that we can help put together a Massachusetts Allied health insurance plan that’s structured at a price point within your budget.