Professional liability, workers’ compensation and employee benefits for medical practices, clinics, home health agencies, behavioral health providers and healthcare organizations across California. We work with carriers that understand the unique exposures healthcare employers face.
Covers claims of negligence, misdiagnosis and treatment errors. Usually required by hospitals for privileges, by payer and medical group contracts, and by many employers.
Covers patient slip-and-fall injuries, property damage at your facility and other premises liability claims separate from professional negligence.
Covers data breaches, ransomware and privacy claims, including breach response costs and, depending on the policy, regulatory proceedings under HIPAA and California privacy law.
Covers wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and wage-related claims from employees. California’s employment laws create real exposure for healthcare employers with large clinical teams.
Extra liability limits above your primary policies, often required by hospital networks and managed care contracts.
Health, dental, vision and ancillary benefits that help you recruit and retain clinical and administrative staff in a competitive California labor market.
Hospital privileges, managed care contracts and government payers all require proof of malpractice and general liability coverage. We provide certificates and endorsements that meet credentialing timelines, and we keep your documentation current at each renewal.
Every carrier rates differently. These are the factors that matter most.
How your payroll splits across clinical, home care and office roles.
The care you provide, the procedures you perform and where patients are seen.
How many physicians, clinicians and locations you have.
Past claims, including malpractice history and your experience mod.
Healthcare employers carry a mix of risks that most businesses don’t, which is why healthcare insurance in California is built from several policies rather than one.
The right mix depends on the care you provide, where you provide it and whether your clinicians are employees, partners or contractors.
This covers claims that care you or your staff provided caused harm. Most medical professional liability is written on a claims-made form, which covers claims made while the policy is active for care after a retroactive date. When you leave a group, retire or switch carriers, you may need tail coverage (an extended reporting period) or prior acts coverage from the new carrier, or old care can go uncovered. Check whether the policy covers the entity as well as each provider, and whether employed nurses, physician assistants and other clinicians are included.
General liability covers bodily injury and property damage that isn’t caused by professional care, such as a visitor who falls in your lobby. Many medical office leases require it, often with the landlord named as additional insured. Learn more on our general liability page.
Cyber insurance helps pay for breach investigation, patient notification, credit monitoring, ransomware response, lost income while systems are down and claims from affected patients. Carriers increasingly require multifactor authentication, tested backups and staff training before they’ll quote, so expect a detailed application.
Healthcare has some of the highest injury rates of any industry, mostly from lifting and moving patients. Workers’ compensation pays medical bills and lost wages for employees hurt on the job, and most policies include employer’s liability for related lawsuits. Learn more on our workers’ compensation page.
EPLI covers claims such as wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Ask whether the policy includes defense for wage and hour claims, which many policies limit or exclude.
An umbrella policy adds limits above your general liability, auto and employer’s liability. Malpractice usually isn’t covered by a standard umbrella, so higher professional limits come from the malpractice policy itself. Competitive employee benefits also matter in healthcare, where clinical staff have plenty of choices.
Workers’ compensation. California requires workers’ compensation for every employer with at least one employee, including part-time employees. There’s no minimum headcount.
Owners. Corporate officers and directors who own at least 15 percent of the company, including owners of a professional medical corporation, can generally exclude themselves by signing a written waiver with the insurer. Everyone else on payroll still needs coverage.
Malpractice damage caps (MICRA). Since 2023, California’s caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases have been rising each year. Claims resolved in 2026 are capped at $470,000 in injury cases and $650,000 in wrongful death cases, and the caps keep rising until they reach $750,000 and $1 million in 2033. Higher caps put upward pressure on malpractice premiums and are a reason to review your limits.
Healthcare minimum wage. Since October 16, 2024, California’s healthcare worker minimum wage (Senate Bill 525) has been phasing up toward $25 an hour, on schedules that depend on the type of facility. Workers’ compensation premium is based on payroll, so update your payroll estimate when wages rise.
Workplace violence prevention. Most California employers must have a written workplace violence prevention plan under Labor Code § 6401.9. Hospitals and many other healthcare settings follow Cal/OSHA’s separate workplace violence standard for health care instead.
Independent contractors. Many practices rely on contracted clinicians and staff. California’s ABC test decides whether those workers are legally employees, and some licensed medical professionals fall under separate rules, so review those arrangements before your workers’ compensation audit.
Workers’ compensation premium is based mainly on payroll, split by class code. Each code describes a type of work, like clinical care in a physician’s office, home health care or clerical office work, and carries its own rate. California uses the classification system maintained by the WCIRB.
Keep payroll records that show which staff do which work. Front-office and billing staff who don’t provide patient care often belong in a lower-rated clerical code, but only if your records support it.
At the end of the policy term, the carrier audits your actual payroll. Staffing agency workers are usually covered by the agency’s policy, so keep their certificates on file. Workers you pay directly as contractors may be added to your payroll if they don’t qualify as independent under California law.
Before you’re credentialed, contracted or handed the keys, expect requests like these:
Many of these are endorsements that must be on the policy itself. A certificate only shows what the policy already says, so send us the requirements before your credentialing deadline whenever you can.
We’re an independent broker, so we can shop your account with multiple carriers instead of one, including carriers that specialize in healthcare. We review credentialing and contract requirements against your policies, help you prepare for audits, and walk through your coverage each year at renewal.
When you need proof of coverage, use our certificate request form. We’ll review each request against your policy before anything is issued.
Send us the requirements from your contract, lease or credentialing packet, including the certificate holder, additional insured and waiver of subrogation, so we can review your request.
California doesn’t require most physicians to carry malpractice insurance by law. In practice, you’ll need it: hospitals require it for privileges, and medical groups, payers and many employers require it in their contracts, often with specific minimum limits.
A claims-made policy covers claims made while the policy is active, for care after its retroactive date. An occurrence policy covers care provided during the policy period no matter when the claim is made. Most medical malpractice is claims-made, which is why tail and prior acts coverage matter when you change jobs or carriers.
Send us the facility or payer’s name and address and their insurance requirements through our certificate request form, and we’ll review your request. Credentialing teams often need proof for each provider, so let us know who’s included.
Usually not. General liability excludes injuries caused by professional services, so a claim about the care itself goes to your professional liability policy. General liability covers things like a visitor slipping in your waiting room.
Yes. Your vendor’s compliance doesn’t cover your practice’s own costs if patient data is exposed, such as notification, investigation, downtime and patient claims. Cyber insurance is designed for those costs.
Often, yes. Officers and directors who own at least 15 percent of a corporation, including a professional medical corporation, can generally exclude themselves by signing a written waiver with the insurer. Every employee of the practice still needs coverage.
Your employees are covered. Staffing agency workers are usually covered by the agency’s own policy, so collect their certificates. Clinicians you pay directly as contractors may count as your employees under California law, and the carrier can add their pay to your payroll at audit.
Tail coverage, or an extended reporting period, lets you report claims after a claims-made policy ends for care you provided while it was active. It’s often needed when a provider leaves a group, retires or switches to a carrier that won’t cover prior acts. Employment contracts often say who pays for it.
It means your policy pays first for a covered claim, without asking the certificate holder’s own insurance to share the cost. It usually takes an endorsement on your policy, not just wording on the certificate.
Tell us about your practice and your team. We’ll compare options from multiple carriers.
Tell us a little about your business. A licensed broker will follow up.
