What Is Medical Malpractice Insurance?
What Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Cover?
A patient may claim that a clinician’s treatment, procedure or advice caused harm; the practice and individual clinicians both need an insured-status check. 3
Medical malpractice coverage can protect health professionals from covered claims arising from their medical services. 1,2Defense Costs and Damages
Check whether the quote covers defense costs as well as damages for a covered claim. 1,3Who Needs Medical Malpractice Insurance?
Consider malpractice coverage for clinicians and the practice itself, including the specialties, procedures and remote care you provide. 4,2
Medical Malpractice Insurance Coverage Examples
What happened
A Patient Challenges Their Treatment
A patient alleges that a clinical decision caused them harm.
What happened
A Claim Arrives After You Leave a Practice
After changing practices and insurers, a clinician receives a claim about earlier treatment.
How Do You Compare Medical Malpractice Insurance Coverage and Costs?
People, Practice and Services
A practice can include employed physicians, other clinical staff and contractors, as well as the practice entity itself. Confirm who is insured and whether they share limits. When a limit is shared, a claim against one insured can affect the protection left for others. 3
Describe your specialties, procedures, practice locations and telemedicine work; confirm the policy matches those services. 4,3| Role or service | Ask the insurer |
|---|---|
| Practice entity | Is your organization insured? |
| Employed clinicians | Are your employed clinicians insured, and do they share limits? |
| Contract clinicians | Does the quote insure contractors or must they buy their own coverage? |
| Telemedicine and locations | Are your telemedicine services and all practice locations included? |
Limits, Defense and Settlement
Compare the limit per medical incident with the total policy limit, and ask whether defense costs are inside or outside those limits. 3,2 Ask who controls your defense and whether the insurer needs your consent to settle. 3How Do Coverage Dates Affect a Claim?
Occurrence and Claims-Made
For occurrence coverage, check when the medical event must happen; for claims-made coverage, also check when a claim must be made or reported and any retroactive date. 2,3Record when care took place, when the claim arrived and when you reported it. Reporting instructions can matter under either policy structure. 2,3
| Date to record | Why it belongs in the comparison |
|---|---|
| When the medical care took place | Occurrence wording looks to that event |
| When a claim was made | Claims-made wording also looks to that date |
| When the matter was reported | Reporting instructions can apply under either structure |
| Any retroactive date | Earlier care may fall outside claims-made coverage |
Changing Insurers or Leaving Practice
Before your current policy ends, ask about tail coverage or prior-acts coverage if you are changing insurers or leaving practice. 2,3How Does Medical Malpractice Insurance Compare With Related Coverage?
Clinical Care, Premises and Patient Data
Review malpractice separately from general liability, cyber and employment coverage, especially if your practice has premises, patient data and employees. 3,1| Concern | Place in the discussion |
|---|---|
| A claim arising from medical services | Medical malpractice |
| Injury on the premises that is not a professional-care claim | General liability |
| Patient or employee data incident | Cyber |
| Employment-related allegation by staff | Employment practices liability |
What Do You Need for Medical Malpractice Insurance Quotes?
Practice, Insurance and Loss History
Prepare clinician and practice details, earlier insurance and retroactive dates, claims history, and patient-safety measures. 4,2| Prepare | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Clinician and practice details | Identify who is to be insured and what they do |
| Specialties, procedures, locations and telemedicine | Match the policy to current services |
| Prior insurance and retroactive dates | Support a claims-made or replacement discussion |
| Claims history | Give a current picture of reported matters |
| Patient-safety and risk-management measures | Answer underwriting questions without treating them as a coverage guarantee |
Medical Malpractice Insurance: Key Terms in Plain English
Occurrence Coverage
Coverage that looks to when the medical event happened. 2,3
Tail Coverage
An extended reporting option for later claims about earlier work, often considered when changing insurers or leaving practice. 2,3
Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice Insurance
What Happens to Coverage When I Leave Practice?
Do Defense Costs Reduce the Policy Limit?
What If a Patient Files a Claim After Your Policy Ends?
Medical Malpractice Insurance Guides by State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Which Insurance Providers Offer Medical Malpractice Insurance?
Sources for Medical Malpractice Insurance
- Medical Malpractice Insurance. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Background: Issue; Overview; two basic types. Version: Last updated April 1, 2026. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Medical Liability Insurance shopping guide. Texas Department of Insurance; What is medical liability insurance?; Claims-made versus occurrence; changing carriers; renewal tips. Version: Last updated March 31, 2025. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Physicians Medical Professional Liability — Specimen Policy. Curi underwriting companies identified on specimen cover; Base I–III printed pp.1–3/PDF pp.2–4; V–VI pp.3–6; VIII p.7; XII pp.11–13. Version: IAMPLC01 | 01.2025; appended ENMPL37 | 01.2025. Accessed 2026-09-16.
- Physician Application. MedPro Group / issuing companies identified on application; I–II p.1; III pp.2–4; IV pp.4–5; V pp.5–6; VI p.6. Version: MP-HPL-PHL-00-02 02/2015. Accessed 2026-09-16.