Pharmacist Liability Insurance
Even the most careful pharmacists can make professional errors that lead to not only patient injuries or illnesses, but expensive lawsuits.
Written by
Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
Reviewed by
Cara Carlone is a licensed P&C agent with 20 years of experience. She has her P&C license in RI and TX and holds CPCU, API, and AINS designations.
Becoming a pharmacist requires extensive education and dedication. The day you get your license is worth celebrating, but there are still important steps to take to protect your career. Securing the right pharmacist liability insurance is a priority before you ever start working with the public. This coverage can provide you with critical reimbursement after a patient lawsuit for claims of negligence and professional errors on your part.
Fortunately, a local independent insurance agent can help you find all the pharmacist liability insurance you need. They'll get you matched to the ideal policy for the type and amount of work you do. But first, here's a closer look at pharmacist liability insurance, what it covers, and more.
What Is Pharmacist Liability Insurance?
Pharmacists perform several tasks that can impact the health and safety of the public, including health screenings, vaccine administration, filling prescriptions, and advising patients on how to use medications. Should a pharmacist make a professional error or omission, a patient could suffer an injury, illness, or financial loss. In turn, they could sue the pharmacist for the harm suffered.
Pharmacist liability insurance, also called pharmacist malpractice insurance, is a special form of professional liability insurance designed for workers in the pharmaceutical industry. This coverage can reimburse pharmacists for expenses associated with third-party lawsuits over claims of professional mistakes, accidents, and other errors. Without this coverage, just one lawsuit could cost tens of thousands of dollars to settle or even more.
What Does Pharmacist Malpractice Insurance Cover?
Pharmacist professional liability insurance can reimburse you for many of the expenses associated with patient claims of professional errors and negligence by you, such as if you fill the wrong prescription order and the patient gets sick. This coverage can pay for the following.
- Arbitration and settlement costs
- Punitive and compensatory damages
- Medical damages to your patients
- Defense costs, including attorney and court expenses
- The cost of defending your professional license
An independent insurance agent can help you find the right kind of pharmacist malpractice insurance that can provide all the reimbursement you need after unexpected lawsuits.
Why Do Pharmacists Need Malpractice Insurance?
Even the most careful and professional pharmacists are still human, which means they're vulnerable to at least an occasional mistake or oversight. Unfortunately, these professional errors can result in serious harm to the public, including injuries, illnesses, and even death. You already know exercising extreme caution and focus while filling patient medications is crucial, but having the right liability protection is just as important.
Common Liability Claims Against Pharmacists
Pharmacists can face patient lawsuits for many different reasons. If a patient dies due to a pharmacist's professional error, the deceased individual's family members can sue the pharmacist. Here are the top liability claims against pharmacists to consider.
- Failure to counsel or refer a patient
- Dosage errors
- Negligence in compounding medications
You can guard against financial losses from these common liability claims against pharmacists with the right malpractice or professional liability insurance. An independent insurance agent can help you get covered today.
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What's Not Covered by Pharmacist Professional Liability Insurance?
A pharmacist malpractice insurance policy comes with various exclusions that you should review before you ever need to rely on your coverage. Your policy isn't likely to cover:
- Claims covered under general liability insurance
- Factual misrepresentations on insurance applications
- Malicious and intentional acts
- Illegal conduct
- Alleged sexual misconduct
General liability insurance can protect you from costs associated with third-party lawsuits for claims of bodily injury or personal property damage not caused by professional errors. An independent insurance agent can outline your pharmacist malpractice insurance policy's specific exclusions.
What Kind of Pharmacist Malpractice Insurance Do You Need?
Your pharmacist malpractice insurance policy will specify both an individual limit, or the maximum amount that will be paid for an individual claim, and an aggregate limit, or the maximum amount that will be paid by your policy for all claims within the policy year. Policies that include limits of $1,000,000/$3,000,000, will pay a maximum of $1 million per claim and $3 million for all claims during the coverage term.
Additionally, you'll need to choose between these forms of malpractice insurance:
- Claims-made coverage: This reimburses you only if the service you provided and the patient's claim were made while the policy was in force. Tail coverage may also be included in your policy, which extends protection for a few years or another specified time period after the policy's end date.
- Occurrence coverage: This will reimburse you as long as the service you provided took place while the policy was in force, no matter when the patient's claim is filed.
- Modified occurrence coverage: Also called tail coverage, this extends your protection after the policy's term ends. You can choose to add unlimited tail coverage once the original coverage period is up. When retiring, many pharmacists use tail coverage to protect against claims that can result from past services.
Your independent insurance agent can help recommend the right type and amount of pharmacist professional liability insurance for you and your practice.
How Much Does Pharmacist Malpractice Insurance Cost?
Pharmacist malpractice insurance costs can vary depending on many factors. These often include the following.
- The type and amount of coverage you need
- Whether you belong to a medical group
- How many hours you work per week
- Outstanding claims
A local independent insurance agent can help you find affordable pharmacist malpractice insurance in your area.
Save on Professional Liability Insurance
Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
The Benefits of an Independent Insurance Agent
When it comes to helping insurance customers find the absolute best pharmacist malpractice coverage, no one’s better equipped to help than an independent insurance agent. Independent insurance agents search through multiple carriers to find providers who sell pharmacist professional liability insurance, deliver quotes from a number of different sources, and help you walk through them all to find the best blend of coverage and cost.
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