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As per recent statistics, 2019 witnessed a total of 2638 filed cases of medical negligence in India. It is a significant decrease from 2018, wherein there were 3241 cases of medical negligence.
Only a few cases were found to be genuine with healthcare professionals being guilty. The other doctors, despite being innocent, were left to defend themselves.
It brings in the requirement to seek legal and financial security to protect doctors who are wrongly sued for their negligence or wrong treatment.
Catering to this, multiple companies now offer errors & omissions insurance policy. It financially safeguards the interest of the innocent medical professionals and mitigates risks brought in by legal claims and its following costs, made by patients in cases of legal rows.
Benefits of errors & omissions insurance policy
Professionals in the line of services like offering medical care are more prone to falling prey to allegations of malpractices. Much of this can be attributed to the nature of their services wherein the slightest of errors could lead to fatalities.
Under such circumstances, they are also susceptible to be wrongly accused of –
- Delayed or wrong diagnosis,
- Negligence inpatient cares,
- Errors in prescribing medications, etc.
However, a major concern under such cases is the legal claims and lawsuits filed against medical professionals. Considering the uncertainty in the amount of the compensation that is based on the mental trauma and stress of the patient, the reputation and financial health of the professional might well be crippled.
Along this line, it is ideal to avail professional liability insurance policy cover that extends the following leverages –
- Absolute financial protection from lawsuits – The financial losses that follow a lawsuit are well covered by an insurance policy. It includes defence costs of lawyer fees, cost of filing legal papers, court costs, etc. This financial security is essential to meet legal repercussions in cases of lawsuits filed against errors and omissions claims.
- Professional credibility – Availing a professional liability insurance policy is essential to ensure established goodwill of an individual’s brand image. The insurance plan ensures prospective clients that their approached medical professional is accountable for the service that he/she provides. Customers would know that irrespective of the genre of professional services that one provides, the presence of E&O insurance policy ensures financial security and support in cases of discrepancies.
- The smooth running of the profession in discussion – A filed lawsuit and financial losses that follow may substantially hamper the smooth functioning of business operations. It is especially true in cases of doctors, whose profession is considerably depended on their reputation.
With indemnity insurance for doctors in place, recovering the original position of any practice after filing legal cases is a feasible option. Additionally, with professionals at your disposal, time consumption and its consequential mitigated business productivity are none of the concerns.
The exhaustive coverage under this legal liabilities cover policy is coupled by –
- A hassle-free claim procedure,
- Speedy redressal of claim,
- Dedicated customer support,
- Best in-market premiums, and
- A high coverage.
Considering the leverage that such indemnity insurance brings, it is often advisable to avail the same when medical professionals have availed a business loan for doctors to set up their clinic or practice.
While such an errors & omissions insurance policy takes care of the legal and financial implications of the practice, these loans cater to the professional financial requirement of professionals.
NBFCs like Bajaj Finserv also bring pre-approved offers that ease the loan application process to avail financing. These offers are available on multiple financial products such as business loans, personal loans, home loans, etc.
The financial assistance, coupled with the legal leverage offered by the insurance policy – all makes it essential to be familiar with what professional indemnity insurance is and avail it against attractive premiums.
