Malpractice Insurance for Resident Physicians: Common Questions
Direct answers to the questions residents and new attendings ask us most often before they apply.
Do medical residents need their own malpractice insurance?
Most residents are covered by their training institution while they work inside the program, and that cover is cheap because attendings carry the supervisory risk. But the program's policy is written to defend the institution first, and it leaves two gaps: any clinical work outside the training contract, and the move to fellowship or practice. Residents are sued less often than attendings, not never: in one study of 3,191 malpractice claims, 471 involved residents. Closing either gap costs little; finding it after a claim costs a great deal.
Do residents pay for malpractice insurance?
Usually not for the policy that covers training duties; the program provides it. Residents pay for what they add: an individual resident policy runs $800 – $2,500 a year, high-risk specialties $2,000 – $6,000, and moonlighting cover, which is always a separate policy, $1,500 – $5,000 depending on scope and hours.
How much does malpractice insurance cost for a resident physician?
At $1M / $3M limits, a standard resident policy costs $800 – $2,500 a year. Surgery, OB/GYN, anesthesia and emergency medicine run $2,000 – $6,000, and moonlighting coverage $1,500 – $5,000. General liability, when bought separately, adds $300 – $800 and is often bundled or provided by the host institution. Specialty, procedural exposure, moonlighting, claims history and the state's litigation climate move the price most.
Which malpractice insurer is best for a finishing resident or new attending?
No single carrier is best for every specialty and state, and the right answer depends on what your new employer already provides. Compare the policy type (claims-made or occurrence), the limits your contract and hospital credentialing require, who pays for tail when you leave, and whether the carrier accepts your specialty and procedures without a heavy surcharge. Homewood compares resident-specific programs and finds the carriers that accept your specialty, procedures and rotation schedule.
What malpractice insurance should I buy before starting my first job as an attending?
Start with the gap behind you, not the job ahead. Most program policies are claims-made, so a claim from residency that is filed after you leave is only covered if you have tail or prior-acts (retroactive) protection in place. Confirm that before your last day, then check what your new employer's policy covers and whether you need your own for outside work. Policies for this transition are typically written at $1M per claim / $3M aggregate, with retroactive protection and tail coverage for post-graduation credentialing.
Should a young physician choose an occurrence or a claims-made policy?
An occurrence policy covers any incident that happens while it is in force, whenever the claim is filed, so it never needs a tail. A claims-made policy covers claims made while it is active; it costs less at first, but leaving it means buying tail or carrying the retroactive date to the next policy. Claims-made cover with unbroken prior-acts continuity is one of the things that keeps a resident's premium lower. Either works when the hand-off between policies is planned.
Does my residency policy cover moonlighting?
No. Any clinical work outside the training contract — an urgent-care shift, a telehealth panel, a weekend at another hospital — is excluded from resident policies and needs its own moonlighting malpractice policy, at $1,500 – $5,000 a year depending on scope and hours. Hospital credentialing will ask for it before you can pick up the shift, so arrange it first.
Which rotations raise a resident's malpractice premium?
Carriers accept most standard supervised duties. Obstetric deliveries are often excluded or heavily surcharged, high-risk anesthesia draws a significant increase or a decline, Level 1 trauma surgery carries a large surcharge, interventional pain procedures are frequently declined outside an accredited fellowship, and cosmetic or aesthetic procedures are almost always excluded. Residents with prior claims or non-standard training pathways can still be placed, often through specialist and surplus-lines carriers.
⬆ Back to contents
