Anesthesiologists face their own share of potential liability issues, as do any professionals in the medical field. At first glance, one may assume that the anesthesiologist is in charge of easing a patient’s pain and helping them to manage it successfully.
Contrary to that belief, anesthesiologists now take a significantly more active role in the patient’s treatment and recovery. Much like any medical professional, anesthesiologists are actually required to carry malpractice liability insurance. Due to their specific nature of risks, anesthesiologists need their own type of liability insurance policy to address those risks. These policies are known as Anesthesiologists Professional Liability Insurance policies.
In the U.S., Anesthesiologists are among the highest paid professional jobs. The amount and cost of training is significant, so it just figures that the job would pay more. Accordingly, Anesthesiologists Professional Liability Insurance is pretty expensive. A wise move is for the anesthesiologist to shop around for the best coverage at the most reasonable price. Several factors could impact how much a policy may cost.
Among those factors are:
Policy coverages. Typically, Anesthesiologists Professional Liability Insurance is sold in million dollar increments like 1 million dollars, 3 million dollars, etc.
Policy location. The geographical location of the anesthesiologist’s practice will most likely play a significant role in how much the policy costs. This functions in a similar manner to auto and homeowner’s insurance.
Pre-existing insurance. This works similar to auto insurance or homeowner insurance. Given the medical nature of the profession, then they should always have prior insurance. If not, this demonstrates not only a legal issue, but a lack of professional responsibility.
The surgeons whom the anesthesiologist works with while performing surgery. Obviously if the surgeon incurs a high amount of claims, then a higher likelihood of claims against the anesthesiologist exists.
Any prior or existing claims? Once again, this is similar to auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance.
Claims establish a history, good or bad.
Memberships to professional organizations like the
American Medical Association. Sometimes, these organizations can also help to provide defense in the event of a claim.
These are just a few of the factors which may influence the cost of an Anesthesiologist's Professional Liability Insurance policy. Unlike many types of insurance, the cost of this sort of professional liability coverage has decreased over the past several years.
The best way to shop for Anesthesiologists Professional Liability Insurance is to consult the
local licensed insurance agent who specializes in professional liability insurance. That agent will be able to guide through the policy explaining what is needed and why it is needed. The Anesthesiologist Professional Liability insurance policy could protect the anesthesiologist from not only losing his or her practice, but also his or her personal possessions in the event of a claim.