« Landlord Not Covered By Insurance Policy | Main | Finding Relief From A Receiver »
Legal Defense Insurance For Physicians
At a party I attended last week I spoke with an orthopaedic surgeon who had dropped malpractice coverage about a new insurance policy that covered only the cost of legal defense. This insurance paid up to $100,000 for legal fees required to defend a malpractice action, but he insurance provided no benefits to the plaintiff and his attorney in the event the jury awarded damages. The legal defense policy for this specialty was less than 20% of the cost of typical malpractice insurance.
Legal defense insurance is designed for physicians who have implemented asset protection planning. The theory of legal defense insurance is that once the plaintiff’s attorney finds out that there is no pot of liability insurance to pay legal fees and an award to the client, and where the doctor has ample funds to defend a lawsuit making the plaintiff’s victory uncertain, difficult, and expensive, the plaintiff’s attorney will be reluctant to take on even meritorious cases.
I spoke with Mr. Scott Stein who writes liability insurance for doctors and other professionals. Mr. Stein says that there are two principle companies selling legal defense coverage. One company is Gulf Atlantic and the other is Evanston Insurance. He prefers Evanston’s policy for several reasons. One reason is that the Evanston policy cannot force an insured doctor to accept a settlement and discontinue the legal defense, and another reason is that Evanston has a 30 year history in the area of professional liability insurance. To date, legal defense insurance is not available for businessmen or professionals other than physicians.
Legal defense insurance presumes effective asset protection planning put in place well before a lawsuit is filed. This is an example about how insurance and legal planning work together to provide the best overall protection. If you are a physician who has in place an effective asset protection plan and who wants more information about legal defense coverage, contact Mr. Stein at 954-349 6250. Thanks to Stuart Morris, Esq., an asset protection attorney in Palm Beach County, Florida for introducing me to Mr. Stein.
posted by Jonathan Alper, asset protection and bankruptcy lawyer, Orlando, Florida
June 2, 2005 in In The News | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/14170/2579591
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Legal Defense Insurance For Physicians:
Comments
I was drawn to this "blog" because a physician called me to say there was a comment on the board that reflected Gulf Atlantic Legal Defense could force a physician to settle a case without his permission. We cannot force a physician to settle a claim - the physician, along with their attorney, decide whether to settle or not. Additionally, Gulf Atlantic, or one of its prior entities, has been insuring Florida physicians for medical malpractice or legal defense since the late 70s. We know the Florida market and the best medical malpractice defense firms state-wide are on our panel counsel list.
I encourage physicians to become wise and educated consumers of any insurance product. You can find out more about Gulf Atlantic by visiting our web site, www.gulfatlantic.com.
Posted by: Wm Thompson | Dec 19, 2007 4:19:33 PM
I know I am a day late and a dollar short in responding to this blog. I must let you know that there is also another company writing defense only insurance in Florida, Florida Health Professionals Legal Defense Insurance, Inc. (FHPLEI). We were writing malpractice defense only policies at the time of your original comments.
Companies like ours and Gulf Atlantic came to be because of the malpractice crisis a couple of years ago. So, let's not discount companies like FHPLEI and Gulf Atlantic because we are new to the marketplace.
I invite you to go to our web site (www. fhplei.com) to review the benefits we offer our insureds. The good news for healthcare professionals is that there are legitmate choices in the defense only arena, each one having value to the medical community.
Posted by: Charles Olessker | Aug 2, 2006 8:58:43 AM
