Malpractice Insurance for Resident Physicians

Resident physicians deliver hands-on patient care across every major specialty — internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics, and more. Although residents work under attending supervision, they perform real clinical duties: diagnosing patients, writing orders, assisting in procedures, admitting patients, documenting care, and managing emergencies. With long hours, high patient volume, and steep learning curves, the risk of error is always present.

Insurance for resident physicians must reflect this environment. Policies need to cover diagnostic mistakes, medication errors, procedural complications, documentation issues, and cross-coverage situations—all while accounting for the resident’s training status and the supervision structure.

This page explains the following:

What Insurance Includes – Full breakdown of General Liability and Professional Liability coverage.
Cost of Coverage – typical premium ranges for residents, fellows, and moonlighters.
Higher-Risk Procedures – rotations that trigger surcharges, exclusions, or carrier refusal.
Why Work With Homewood

Get a Free Quote Now

The fastest way to find the most suitable insurance coverage for resident physicians is to fill out our quick quote form, so we can give you an idea of the type of insurance coverage that best suits you. Homewood Insurance works with a number of different carriers to ensure you have the most suitable insurance coverage at the best price.

Resident Physicians Malpractice Insurance can include:

Covers malpractice claims arising from supervised clinical training and hospital rotations.
Protection for diagnostic errors, procedural involvement, and treatment decisions made under attending supervision.
Applies to residents in all specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN, pediatrics, and psychiatry.
Includes coverage for documentation errors, informed consent issues, and communication breakdowns.
Limits up to $1M per claim / $3M aggregate; tail and retroactive coverage available.
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What Insurance Includes

Malpractice or liability insurance can provide essential protection against these risks:

Professional Liability (Malpractice Insurance)

Covers malpractice allegations arising from clinical training, supervised procedures, and hospital rotations.
Protection for diagnostic mistakes, delayed escalation, charting errors, incomplete documentation, or medication-related errors.
Applies to residents in all specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN, pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, neurology, and family medicine.
Defense for complications during bedside procedures such as central lines, lumbar punctures, suturing, I&Ds, intubations, and thoracentesis.
Includes coverage for cross-coverage, call-night decisions, rapid response situations, telehealth encounters, and consultations.
Supports residents rotating through hospitals, outpatient clinics, ambulatory centers, and VA facilities.
Optional endorsements available for moonlighting, global health rotations, simulation-based care, or out-of-state rotations.
Coverage limits typically available up to $1,000,000 per claim / $3,000,000 aggregate, with retroactive protection and tail coverage for post-graduation credentialing.

General Liability Insurance

Third-party bodily injury protection for slips, falls, or visitor accidents occurring in resident-supported clinic spaces.
Coverage for accidental property damage —including equipment, facility fixtures, or patient belongings.
Personal and advertising injury coverage (defamation, non-PHI privacy claims, communication disputes).
Helps meet training program, hospital, or state requirements for residents rotating across multiple locations.
Standard limits include $1M per occurrence / $3M aggregate, with optional umbrella extensions.

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The Cost of Malpractice Insurance for Resident Physicians:

Resident physicians benefit from significantly lower premiums than attending physicians, but rates vary based on specialty, training year, moonlighting, and the risk level of the rotations performed.

Professional Liability Insurance – Estimated Ranges:

Standard resident policy: $800 – $2,500 per year
High-risk specialties (surgery, OB/GYN, anesthesia, emergency medicine): $2,000 – $6,000 per year
Moonlighting malpractice coverage: $1,500 – $5,000 per year depending on scope and hours

General Liability Insurance – Estimated Ranges:

$300 – $800 per year (Often bundled with PL or provided by host institution)

Key Pricing Factors

Specialty (OB/GYN, anesthesia, surgery = highest)
Rotations involving high-risk procedures
Whether the resident moonlights or works outside the training contract
Claims or disciplinary history (rare, but impactful)
Whether the policy is individual or provided through a training institution
State litigation climate and required limit levels
Amount of procedural exposure during residency (e.g., number of lines, intubations, deliveries)

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The Risk of Malpractice Lawsuits

While the likelihood of residents facing medical liability lawsuits is relatively low, it’s not negligible. A recent study reveals that from a total of 3,191 medical malpractice claims, 471 involved residents. This underscores the importance of malpractice insurance as a protective measure. The study highlighted that lower number of events involving residents might be attributed to the careful supervision and graduated responsibility given to residents during their training.

Common Areas of Liability

Residents often face challenges in procedural aspects of care, such as surgery, where complications like lacerations or infections can occur. Inadequate supervision and technical performance under high-stress situations are common contributing factors to these incidents. Understanding these risks highlights the importance of comprehensive insurance coverage, which provides a safety net in these scenarios.

Malpractice insurance for resident physicians is essential throughout their medical training, offering peace of mind and protection in a field where the margin for error is slim. It supports the invaluable learning process, allowing residents to focus on honing their skills and knowledge in the demanding world of healthcare.

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High-Risk Procedures and their Impact on your Premiums

Carriers generally accept most standard residency duties. However, some rotations or procedures trigger major surcharges or exclusions, and certain activities may be declined entirely unless written through surplus lines carriers.

Procedure / Rotation	Description & Risks	Insurance Impact
Obstetric Deliveries	Labor and delivery exposure, shoulder dystocia, neonatal injury, fetal distress, or delayed escalation.	Often excluded or heavily surcharged; may require OB-specific rider or specialty carrier.
High-Risk Anesthesia	Cardiac anesthesia, obstetric anesthesia, pediatric anesthesia for infants, airway emergencies.	Significant premium increase; some carriers decline unless through program’s captive.
Trauma Surgery (Level 1)	High-acuity procedures, rapid decision-making, complications in polytrauma patients.	Large surcharge; higher deductibles; some carriers exclude independent surgical acts.
Interventional Pain Procedures	Spinal injections, nerve blocks, fluoroscopy-assisted interventions, opioid management.	Frequently declined unless in accredited fellowship; opioid involvement increases rates.
Cosmetic / Aesthetic Procedures	Botox, fillers, lasers, elective procedures with high dissatisfaction risk.	Almost always excluded; requires separate med-spa or physician-supervised policy.
Moonlighting / Independent Work	Any clinical work outside residency contract, even minor urgent care or telehealth shifts.	Excluded from resident policies; requires separate moonlighting malpractice policy.

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Other types of Insurance that Resident Physicians need

Homewood can often combine different types of coverage into one policy.

General Liability Insurance

General Liability covers medical expenses and attorney fees which result from bodily injuries and property damage that your facility or organization could be legally responsible for.

Professional Liability Insurance

Also known as malpractice insurance, this protects Resident Physicians against claims related to malpractice, negligence, or injury resulting from treatment. Staff members will typically be covered by professional liability insurance.

Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance

Provides coverage for your practice against claims arising from alleged sexual misconduct or molestation by an employee or other representative of your organization.

Commercial Property Insurance

This protects your facility against damage or loss to your buildings, equipment, and other property, which can happen as the result of various risks such as fire, theft, or vandalism.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers Compensation Insurance is usually mandated by law. It protects employees in case of work-related injuries or illnesses.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Covers you against financial losses associated with data breaches, cyber attacks, and other cyber incidents. Insurers will usually conduct rigorous testing of your online system to fix vulnerabilities as part of this policy.

Why Work With Homewood

Residents often face confusing coverage rules—what’s covered by the training program, what isn’t, and how moonlighting fits in. Homewood makes the process easy and transparent. We help you:

Compare resident-specific malpractice programs and find carriers that accept your specialty, procedures, and rotation schedule.
Strengthen your application by clarifying supervision levels, credentialing, and procedural responsibilities.
Avoid gaps when transitioning from medical school to residency, residency to fellowship, or residency to independent practice.
Secure moonlighting coverage that meets hospital credentialing and protects you outside your program’s policy.
Navigate surplus-lines options if you have claims history, disciplinary issues, or non-standard training pathways.

Call 947-274-3093 or Fill Out the Form

Ralph Schiller

Ralph specializes in sourcing the most suitable insurance for Resident Physicians at the best price. You can call him or fill out the form and he will get your message directly.

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