Dental Malpractice Insurance: Essential Protection for Your Practice

You encounter multiple risks as the owner of a dental practice. You possess some expensive items such as costly equipment and furniture. You also have a responsibility to safeguard the health of your staff and your patients. A lot depends on a dentist's shoulders and you want to ensure you're doing everything possible to help your business succeed. That starts with securing the right malpractice coverage for your business.

Dental Malpractice Claims Can Be Costly

A dentist's worst nightmare is a malpractice claim. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the dental industry, dentists make errors. A procedure can go wrong even when you do everything correctly.

• In South Sydney, a man was awarded $100,000 for a malpractice lawsuit after a dentist caused nerve damage.

• In 2016, a contaminated dental unit waterline caused infections in 71 pediatric patients that caused a 12-office dental group to shut down.

• Another patient was awarded $9.8 million for a malpractice suit after a botched wisdom tooth removal.

These are just several instances where patients suffered permanent bodily injury either due to a dentist's negligence or a simple error. That's where a malpractice insurance policy can step in to shield you.

Exposures Dentists may Face

A dentist can be held responsible in a court of law for negligence or errors made when the following can be proven:

• That a doctor/patient relationship was established.

• That the mode of treatment deviated from standard in the industry and that it was negligent.

• The patient must also demonstrate that damages occurred for you to be held liable.

When the patient can prove that the practicing dentist failed in their practice and harmed his or her health, they will likely be awarded a judgment against you, your company, or your group. What are some of the risk exposures that you face?

• Nerve damage is caused when you perform a root canal, tooth extraction, etc.

• You don't receive informed consent from a parent or legal guardian for a procedure

• Burns, cuts, or other bodily injury caused inadvertently

• Failure to properly diagnose a cancerous tumor or periodontal disease

• Failure to refer a patient to the proper specialist

• Extracting or damaging the wrong tooth

• Improper bridge or crown work

• Improper infection control causing illness

These are just several of the many risks that dentists face in their practice. While you likely never intend to harm a patient or risk their health, you're only human and you will make errors. You want to ensure the proper professional liability insurance policy is in place to shield your practice.

What is Dental Malpractice Coverage?

Dental malpractice coverage is a professional liability insurance type that provides protection when a lawsuit is filed against you. In most cases, the insurance carrier will provide you legal counsel and cover court-related expenses, judgments, or settlements. Dental malpractice is typically offered in two different coverage option types: claims-made protection and occurrence protection.

Occurrence Policy

Occurrence policies shield against claims which are filed against you for dental work which occurred while the policy was active. When a claim is filed against you after your protection has expired—or even after you have retired—you will still be protected when the actual claim/incident took place during the time it was active.

Claims-Made Policy

Claims-made policies are typically offered at a lower expense by an insurance carrier than the per occurrence malpractice policy. The premiums are based on the timeframe in which the claim against you is filed. Different premiums are offered based on the timeframe you choose to purchase, which is typically anywhere from 1–5 years.

Let's say you choose a two-year claims-made policy but two years and 45 days after the protection is canceled, you get a notice that you are being sued. This claim is not protected because you only had a two-year policy.

When you retire or leave your practice, you are not protected unless you get a specialized insurance policy known as "tail protection." Tail protection will continue to shield you after you retire (at a certain retroactive date) or until the statute of limitations is over. Some insurance carriers offer tail protection for either policy type.

Who Needs Malpractice Insurance?

Anyone in the dental field needs to secure malpractice coverage to reduce their risk:

• General Dentist

• Orthodontist

• Periodontist

• Endodontist

• Oral Surgeon

• Prosthodontist

Dental professionals and assistants might need to evaluate professional liability protection. In some cases, dental students actively attending dental school and working on patients will also need to secure coverage.

How Much Does Professional Liability Insurance Cost?

When you're opening a new dental practice, you can find an insurance carrier that will offer low-cost premiums for a specified time period (sometimes up to 5 years). Dental schools also frequently have partnership agreements with various insurance carriers. When you participate in any of several types of risk management programs or other seminars, you might also be offered discounts on protection.

But affordable malpractice coverage is possible to find. The average cost of dental malpractice protection for new dentists within their first five years of practicing can be as low as $300—$1,000 annually. After 5 years in your practice, the costs of professional liability protection will increase slightly to between $2,000–$3,000 annually.

Other Insurance Options to Consider for Your Dental Office

There are other additional protections you can explore to add more security to your dental practice and give you peace of mind.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber liability coverage is essential for dental practices that store patient information—and most do. Their name, date of birth, insurance, and more can be compromised when your practice is subjected to a data breach. Cyber liability coverage will offer credit monitoring for your patients, cover legal expenses, notify patients of the breach, and pay settlement expenses. In rare cases, a cyber liability policy can pay ransom demands (up to the policy limits).

Workers' Compensation Insurance

Dental practices typically hire support staff, like a dental assistant, hygienist, and other healthcare professionals. Once you make a hire, you're legally required—in most states—to shield your team with workers' compensation coverage. When one of your staff gets injured or becomes ill from a work-related accident, workers' comp can help pay their medical bills and lost income until they can return to work.

Commercial Property Insurance

Cavitrons, X-ray machines, computers, phone systems—can you imagine the expense to replace them without insurance protection? When your practice catches fire, is damaged in a storm, or you're robbed, this protection can help offset the expenses to repair your building and replace your equipment.

Get Affordable Dental Malpractice Insurance

Let us help you find protection for your business and maintain your peace of mind with dental malpractice coverage for dentists. At Harper, our goal is to get you an affordable commercial insurance quote. Complete the form at the page top to contact us or give us a call at +1 (470) 410-0093 to get started.