PRODUCT: Hiscox PRO^® Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability

COMPANIES: Hiscox U.S., Lloyds Syndicate 3624

BEST RATING: A (Excellent), size XV

AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available through appointed wholesaler brokers.

FOCUS: Employment in the mental health care industry is projected to grow up to 23% by 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Compare that to the 7% projected growth rate for all occupations over the same time period, and mental health professionals emerge as a clear opportunity for the insurance industry.

Hiscox responds with a new product within its Allied Healthcare division’s collection of “tailor-made policy forms”—all of which target industries “where we feel there’s a lot of opportunity and a lot of strong growth in the employment sector,” says Alicia Marsiglia, vice president and Allied Healthcare product head for Hiscox U.S.

They’re also typically industries Hiscox has “served for a very long time,” Marsiglia adds—and that deep expertise enables the insurer to “develop forms that really speak to a particular insured. They contain language that makes sense to them and professional services descriptions that are tailored to the work of those insureds, as well as bells and whistles that make sense for that type of business.”

Compared to the Hiscox PRO^® Allied Healthcare Professional Liability policy—the base professional liability form Hiscox can apply to any class in its Allied Healthcare portfolio—the company’s Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability form is therefore “tweaked to provide tailor-made coverage that incorporates specific items that are more geared toward that particular industry,” Marsiglia explains.

Hiscox has been writing allied health care insurance for more than 11 years. “A lot of what we compete against in this space is more generalized products that are fit for multiple insured types,” Marsiglia points out. “Our policy forms highlight our interest, understanding and expertise in the space.”

COVERAGE DETAILS: Marsiglia points to three key areas that differentiate Hiscox PRO^® Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability:

Remote or teletherapy coverage. The policy provides affirmative coverage for remote therapy work performed by licensed professionals. “Mental health care is one of the areas where you don’t necessarily have to have a hands-on approach,” Marsiglia explains. “You can be miles apart through a technology link and still provide the same high-quality service.”

Billing and regulatory coverage. The policy covers defense and investigation costs associated with licensing eligibility proceedings, FDA investigations, Stark Law violations and billing errors claims. “Especially for smaller insureds that might not have the resources necessary to manage a lot of those processes well, they can potentially run into issues without even realizing it,” Marsiglia points out.

Waiver of retention endorsement. To encourage good risk management practices, Hiscox offers an endorsement that waives the retention for defense and indemnity if the insured can provide proper documentation of patient consent forms, as well as “certain types of visits and evaluation of clients,” Marsiglia says. “The less documentation, the harder it is to defend an insured. Even when they may have done everything right, it’s hard to prove without that documentation.”

Coverage applies to claims involving a variety of areas and treatment options, including outpatient mental health care, behavioral therapy, substance abuse counseling, medication management, partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs, and remote or teletherapy. Medical directors, non-physician employees, independent contractors, students, volunteers, and employed or contracted physicians are also included as insureds.

UNDERWRITING: Basic underwriting requirements include revenue figures, loss history, and details about staff qualification and patient demographics. “Who the insured is treating is one of the more important things for us to be able to classify the risk,” Marsiglia explains.

MINIMUM PREMIUM: $850 for professional liability; higher for packaged coverage, where options include general liability, privacy, crime, and technology errors & omissions.

TARGET: Risks within the outpatient mental health care space, including outpatient clinics as well as individual practitioners such as therapists, social workers and family counselors. “A lot of those risks will be on the small side, but we can consider all size risks with this product,” Marsiglia adds.

COVERAGE TERRITORY: Worldwide when a claim is brought in the U.S., its territories/possessions, or Canada.

COVERAGE AVAILABILITY: All 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Guam.

CONTACT: Alicia Marsiglia, vice president and Allied Healthcare product head; Hiscox U.S., 5 Concourse Parkway, Ste. 2150; Atlanta, GA 30328.

Jacquelyn Connelly is IA senior editor.