Physical therapy liability insurance is an important way to protect professionals who are responsible for bringing damaged limbs back to life through strategic movements.
In many cases physical therapy essential for the patient’s post-surgery recovery. If you have had a knee, shoulder, or elbow surgery in the past two months, you know what I am talking about.
Physical therapists usually work with patients with similar conditions in groups of three or four. This makes the session more affordable for the patient, but they only receive part of the therapist’s attention.
Physical therapist’s malpractice can lead to unwanted complications
Sometimes, the patient can’t hear the therapist’s instructions correctly or overexercises the operated limb. In other cases, a physical therapist can misjudge a patient’s physical conditions and prescribe exercises that are too hard for them.
Unwanted complications may occur as a result of malpractice or negligence. These complications can significantly slow down the recovery process. If the malpractice continues too long, it may lead to chronic inflammation of the tendon, the joint, or the ligament.
Who needs physical therapy liability insurance?
This particular insurance policy is for physical therapists and chiropractors to protect them against malpractice lawsuits.
Other health professionals like nurses and caregivers can also buy this insurance to protect their career and financial future from expensive malpractice claims.
What does the physical therapy liability insurance cover?
The most popular provider of malpractice insurance for healthcare professionals in the USA is HPSO. Their insurance policy has very comprehensive coverage:
Professional Liability
Your practice gets covered against claims of up to $1 million per insured professional, but not more than $3 million annual aggregate for all claims during the policy period. The coverage applies to specifically-listed medical incidents.
License Protection
This option protects your physical therapy practice against claims of up to $25,000 annual aggregate ($25,000 on each proceeding) filed to state licensing authorities.
HPSO will reimburse you within the policy’s limit for any legal defense of disciplinary charges and other expenses following a covered incident.
Expense Benefit
If you have been summoned to appear in a court of law as a defendant, your medical insurance policy will cover your wage for that day (up to $1,000 a day or up to $25,000 a year).
Defense Attorney Provided
If you have signed up for medical liability insurance from HPSO, you can rest assured that your defense attorney’s expenses will be covered, no matter if you win or lose.
Up to $25,000 annual aggregate if you get assaulted at work
Some patients may set about to retaliate on the physiotherapist who’s slowed down their recovery by means of involuntary malpractice or negligence.
Suppose an insured therapist becomes the victim of an assault at work or on their way to or from their practice.
In that case, HPSO’s insurance coverage will reimburse the attacked physical therapist for any first aid expenses, legal counseling, or damages to their property within the applicable limit. This insurance option is not available in Texas.
Sexual abuse coverage
Physical therapy sessions require frequent physical contact between the therapist and the patient. By touching the patient’s body’s operated area, the therapist can tell if the recovering muscle responds well to the prescribed exercise or procedures.
Unfortunately, some patients may feel that they have become the victim of sexual misconduct on the part of their therapist and press charges against them.
As part of the physical therapy liability insurance of HPSO, the sexual abuse coverage defends the insured practitioners against claims of up to $25,000 annual aggregate.
Popular Providers of PT Liability Insurance in the United States
Having insured close to one-third of all physical therapists in the USA, HPSO is the country’s largest and most popular physical therapy liability insurance provider. Let’s have a closer look at some of its competitors.
CM&F
Opened in 1919, CM&F is one of the oldest providers of professional liability insurance packages in the USA. They specialize in professional liability insurance packages for physical therapy groups.
CM&F provides professional liability insurance packages that get your physical therapy practice covered against claims for undelivered services, negligence, or errors.
If your physical therapy clinic has been named in a lawsuit, CM&F’s professional indemnity insurance will cover your legal defense costs and the amount of the court award or settlement.
More than 100,000 professionals trust CM&F
Over 100,000 healthcare professionals across the United States have purchased indemnity policies from CM&F. The Med Pro Group and A Berkshire Hathaway Company are just two of CM&F’s numerous partners and affiliates across the country.
CM&F’s individual Physical Therapist Insurance is quite affordable. To get a quote, just visit the company’s application portal and answer a few questions. Registration is not required. The rate you’ll be offered depends on your answers.
Where are the coverage limits?
This is the one question I kept asking myself while browsing the website of this insurance company. I understand that it is necessary to fill in their questionnaire to get a quote. Still, they could have at least listed the different coverage limits of their physical therapy liability insurance in plain view.
Proliability
It appears that Proliability, powered by Mercer, is the third most popular broker of professional liability insurance for physical therapists in the USA.
This professional liability insurance policy is specially tailored to complement any have professional liability insurance that physical therapy practitioners may have through their employers.
All of their policy’s coverage limits are listed on their landing page. Proliability offers coverages that give you peace of mind with premiums starting from $80 per month.
Get your PT liability policy from Proliability online
Visit Proliability’s official website and get your liability insurance for physical therapists in four easy steps. First, you should fill in Proliability’s simple questionnaire to get a quote.
Then you should file an online application. At the next step, you’ll be asked to confirm your coverage. Finally, you can relax and focus on helping your clients to recover.
Proliability also offers risk management services
Proliability’s risk management arm is called Risk Fitness. It partners with OmniSure Consulting Group, the market leader in this business, to offer its policyholders premium risk management solutions:
RiskFit® — a series of risk management blogs that discuss self-assessment tools, various insurance policies and provide hyperlinks to video tutorials and audio podcasts.
Monthly Risk Reduction Tip — this is a monthly newsletter from which policyholders can learn precious risk management tips and trends. The newsletter sometimes includes an educational video.
Advice-on-Demand – this risk management helpline is accessible via email or a toll-free call. The over-the-phone consultation can last up to 30 minutes.
Physical Therapy Liability Insurance FAQ
In the first two paragraphs of this post, I tried to answer two of the most crucial physical therapy liability insurance questions. Let us now have a look at some other relevant questions that deserve attention.
COVID-19 has forced me to close my practice temporarily, but I have valid PT insurance. What should I do?
Answer:Your best option is to change the type of your policy to Part-time or Leave of Absence.
How much does PT insurance cost?
Answer: It depends on your insurance provider, but the average cost is about $400 a year.
Who can file PT malpractice claims?
Answer: In most cases, physical therapy malpractice claims are filed by the patients. They may also hire a legal representative to act on their behalf. If the injured part is underaged or mentally-incapacitated, compensation claims can be filed by a parent or a guardian.
Do I Need Occurrence Form Coverage or Claims-Made Coverage?
Answer: Occurrence Form Coverage is the gold standard in physical therapy insurance because it keeps you shielded from claims arising from an incident that occurred within the policy period, even if the insurance policy is no longer active.
By contrast, a Claims-made policy is activated only after someone has filed a claim against the insured party within the policy period. Regardless of when the act of alleged wrongdoing took place, the insured party must have an active policy at the time of the claim.
Can I cancel my Physical Therapy Liability policy at any time?
Answer: Albeit you can buy a PT liability policy online, you can’t cancel it at any time. However, if your business is going through hard times, you can change your policy’s status to Part-time or Leave of absence and pay lower premiums.
I lost my proof of coverage. What should I do?
Answer: There’s no room for worrying. All you have to do is log into your account on your insurance provider’s website and locate a downloadable proof of coverage form.
Which Physical Therapy Liability Insurance provider should I choose?
Answer: The competition in the sector is really heated, but I think you should choose one that provides insurance coverage all over the United States. Read the list of covered states carefully.
Most PT insurance providers do not cover overseas territories like the US Virgin Island or Guam.
How soon will coverage go into effect?
Answer: Most insurers provide immediate coverage, and you can expect to receive your proof of insurance via email.