Effective May 1, 2021 the New York State legislation has again renewed the Section 18 Excess Liability Program of the Medical Malpractice Reform Act through for July 1, 2021 through June 30,2022. The program will continue to be funded in full by the New York State Hospital Excess Liability Pool.
Section 18 is an added layer of protection for physicians with an additional $1M per claim and $3M aggregate above the standard limits $1.3M per claim and $3.9M aggregate required by the state of New York. Section 18 is an occurrence policy that can be added to either an occurrence or claims made policy. To qualify for the program physicians must meet the follow criteria:
A physician must have primary affiliation with a New York state general hospital
Physicians must have an individual primary policy (not group policy) with limits of at least $1.3M per claim and $3.9M aggregate from a carrier authorized to do business in New York. The underlying insurance cannot be with an RRG carrier
A physician must have completed the qualifying Risk Management course. This is required every 2 years
A physician must render emergency services from time to time at the general hospital
Section 18 only takes on new participants if previously qualifying physicians do not re-apply. Physicians who apply for Section 18 will be wait-listed until a spot becomes available. Physicians can purchase the additional coverage through their admitted carrier while on the waitlist. If physicians are later accepted into the program during the same policy year the additional premium paid for the added coverage will be reimbursed at that time by their carrier. Applications must be completed and sent to the excess carrier no later than July 1, 2021, open enrollment for the program during this policy year will end December 31, 2021.
Professional Risk Associates was the first independent agency to work with The Doctors Company, an admitted New York carrier. Together our agents and TDC underwriters can work with New York physicians to find them comprehensive medical malpractice insurance coverage and navigate the application process for the Section 18 program. Contact us today connect with an experienced agent.