Liability Insurance

Pharmacist Liability Insurance

If you are the sole breadwinner in your family, you should look into term life insurance to provide for family in case an unexpected death happens.

Term life insurance offers much more value than whole life insurance and you pick this option if you need life insurance.

Another insurance pharmacists might need is professional liability insurance.

According to Drug Topics, the average claims against a pharmacist is $124,407. Hospital pharmacies’ average liability claims can cost up to $273,338.

Other expenseive claims may include:

  • $544,600 for failure to identify overdosing
  • $325,819 for compounding calculation and/or preparation error
  • $275,092 for failure to provide instructions

Given these statistics, it may be easy to see why how much pharmacists make doesn’t really matter when a single lawsuit can wipe out your annual salary plus more.

According to APhA, practice environments that warrant your own policy includes:

  • Community pharmacists (independent pharmacy owner)
  • Consulting work, self-employed, contract work
  • Medication management roles (ambulatory care, collaborative practice)
  • Independent prescribing
  • Dispensing roles (protect against medication errors)

Reasons for not having a professional liability insurance:

An article by pharmacy times argues that you may not need individual liability insurance since most employers provide liability insurance for each employee.

Whenever patients want to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a pharmacist, their attorney will direct the suit against the employer. Why? Because they are the ones with financial resources.

On the other hand, if you carry your individual liability insurance then you might an additional target of the suit since you carry a policy that covers as much as one million dollars.

Companies offering pharmacist liability insurance

Do you have $124,407 lying around? That’s the average cost of pharmacist malpractice claim according to HPSO.

  • Over 80,000 pharmacists has HPSO Pharmacist Malpractice insurance
  • Sponsored by the American Pharmacist Association (APhA)

Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO)

  • Professional Liability Coverage 
    • Covers you, up to $1 million each claim, for amounts that you become legally obligated to pay as a result of a professional liability claim arising out of a covered medical incident. 
    • Covers you, up to $3 million annual aggregate, for all covered claims in the policy period. 
  • Loss of Earnings – $1,500 per day, up to $50,000 limit
  • Pharmacist License Defense – $25,000 aggregate, up to $25,000 per proceeding
  • HIPAA Claim Defense – $25,000 limit
  • Assault – $25,000 limit
  • Sexual or Physical Abuse Liability – $25,000 annual aggregate

HPSO Liability Insurance for pharmacists

Pharmacists Mutual

Pharmacy Professional Liability

From Pharmacist Mutual:

LIMITS OF LIABILITY AND WHAT WE COVER
Limits of $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate (higher limits may be available)

  • Coverage Options:
    • Exclude Sterile Compounding
    • Include Sterile Compounding
    • Advanced Pharmacist License
  • Immunizations and Other Drug Administration
  • Drug Regimen Reviews and Medication Therapy Management (MTM)
  • Drug or Drug-Related Research
  • Medication Consultation
  • Drug and Device Storage
  • Participation in Drug and Device Selection

Loss of Earnings – $1,500 per day, up to $50,000 limit
Pharmacist License Defense – $250,000 limit
Board of Pharmacy Imposed Fees – $2,500 limit
HIPAA Claim Defense – $50,000 limit
Assault – $25,000 limit
Sexual or Physical Abuse Liability – $50,000 limit (higher limits may be available)

CM&F

  • Coverage options up to $2 million per claim

CM&F Pharmacist Liability Insurance

Proliability, powered by Mercer

  • Limits vary by profession up to $1 million per occurrence/$3 million aggregate
  • Loss of Earnings – $1,500 per day, up to $50,000 limit
  • Pharmacist License Defense – Covers up to $10,000 per incident/$25,000 per policy period for attorney fees or other expenses or fees from an investigation or proceedings from an entity responsible for regulating your profession
  • HIPAA Claim Defense – Pays up to $25,000 for HIPAA fines, penalties and notification costs
  • Assault –  $10,000 per incident and $25,000 per policy period 
  • Sexual or Physical Abuse Liability – Up to $25,000

Proliability Pharmacist Liability Insurance

A good overview of why professional liability insurance is needed.

The Importance of Professional Liability Insurance for Retail Pharmacists