Indemnity insurance ensures appropriate compensation to the policyholder for financial losses due to professional misjudgment, sues in court cases, and any other mishap. A variety of professionals and business owners opt to have indemnity to reduce their liabilities and any potential economic damage.
One such profession is a Clinical (doctor). Doctors are revered and highly respected all across the world as they save human lives. But they too have their limits, and they’re fallible as they’re human. So, errors and misjudgments can’t be terminated entirely. And on those occasions, patients can sue them for even perceived neglect and errors.
Laws in these modern times can cost way too much for any such error. Though it’s never the intention of any doctor to hurt patients, in emergencies, even one small decision can seal the patient’s fate. Of course, that doesn’t mean they actively killed the patient. But as a medical professional, you can be held accountable for that decision and forced to pay the claim from the patient party in full or a part of it.
That’s where indemnity insurance kicks in. It saves their financial stability and lets them concentrate on the job better. But, unfortunately, in today’s turbulent times, the amount of sues a doctor gets is astonishing, and only a small percentage (10-15%) of them hold any real value.
There are several benefits of indemnity insurance for doctors. Here are 5 of them:
1. Good preparation for unforeseen circumstances
Creating a small fund out of savings can only get so far. Doctors don’t know how, where or how much the compensation will be. As nobody can accurately guess how much will be enough, indemnity insurance like Tego ensures they’ll be prepared for the hefty amounts, whatever the suing amount and legal fees are. Also, legal proceedings for alleged negligence on the part of doctors have risen alarmingly. And though most doctors are found not guilty, they still have to defend themselves in court, and the cost is pretty high. Indemnity insurance makes them free of this financial burden.
2. Clearing the uncertainty
Doctors can’t exactly know the compensation, as the patient can lose an organ or even die under their watch. And the penalty for these can be gigantic and has the power to wipe out all of their savings in one sweep. This is the perfect protection for doctors to continue their practice. If they point their finger at hospitals, it may get them in troubled waters and severely impact their future employment. And if they’re private practitioners, this huge sum of money can force them to shut shop for a long time. But indemnity can cancel out these probabilities, as a third party will pay their compensations. The hospitals won’t have any grudges, and their practice won’t shut down because of a lack of money (though the reputation can be shaken).
3. Securing the present from the past
There are cases where patients or their families sue doctors after some years. Most are out of personal contempt, not because of professional misconduct. The legalities are even more complex in these cases, as the proofs are almost non-existent. Many of them are perceived and not actualized. To keep the past away from the present, many indemnity insurers give retroactive coverage. This protects doctors against any claim from past cases, though they need to be in continuous coverage of indemnity insurance (the insurer doesn’t matter).
4. Proper legal counsel
Indemnity insurance gives you legal support inside the courtroom. If things get testy and any patient party decides to take you to court, you’ll need solid legal representation. But that doesn’t come cheap, and without the insurance, you’d have to select a lawyer based on your limited knowledge and perception. If you’re insured, you can easily go for the best lawyers without any hesitation. This will result in minimum loss incurred and will help in recovering your reputation too.
5. Confidence in your career
If the fear of making a mistake starts crippling doctors, millions of people will die untreated and unattended. That’s why they must have clarity in their minds and complete confidence in their duties and the noblest service they offer. Moreover, as indemnity insurance covers all the financial worries, including alleged breaches of confidentiality and the price of reinstating third-party documents, doctors won’t feel intimidation by the patients and won’t start second-guessing their capabilities. So, simply put, indemnity insurance not only helps them economically but also ensures better quality output in their professional career.
CONCLUSION
Doctors are life savers and protectors of human life. You could have seen this in this world, how they selflessly and tirelessly gave service to millions of people during a raging pandemic.
And though many cultures around the world keep doctors just next to the Gods, we must not forget that they’re human at the end of the day. They can make mistakes too.
Though the cost of their mistake can be a life lost if we blame the doctors all the time, where would we be if the future generation of doctors starts avoiding critical cases in fear?
That’s why they need indemnity insurance. But a better world would be where doctors are not blamed left, right, and center for any perceived mistreatments.
