CG Insurance Group, through our partnership with The Cincinnati Insurance Companies, offers malpractice coverage on an occurrence form to all of our dental clients. Not sure if occurrence is the right form for you?
Occurrence Coverage 101
An occurrence policy covers incidents that occur during your policy period, independent of when the claim is filed. The policy can respond to any incident that occurred while the policy was in effect even if time has passed or if there is not still a policy in place. One example of this would be treating a patient, undergoing a policy change at your dental practice and having the patient return a year later to file a claim. The dental incident the patient files a claim for would be covered by an occurrence policy, regardless of whether or not you still have the policy in place.
What Are the Benefits of Occurrence Coverage?
The occurrence form is a preferred method of dental malpractice coverage because:
- You might not hear about an injury that allegedly occurred as a result of your actions until years down the road. Coverage afforded on an occurrence form guards you against old incidents resurfacing without needing to purchase an Extended Reporting Period (ERP) rider if you change insurance companies. With claims-made coverage, an ERP is a necessity.
- If you want to move on to another insurance company, changing from occurrence policy to occurrence policy is very straightforward. If you wish to move your current claims-made policy over to an occurrence form, we can move the prior acts coverage over for a fraction of the price of an ERP from the claims-made insurance carrier.
- Based on when the professional incident allegedly occurred and when it is reported by the patient, you could be eligible for a higher amount of coverage.
- You will not need to worry about the steep cost of an ERP, which can save you a great deal of money and stress.
- Your claims-made policy is a yearly contract that can change on an annual basis and affect your coverage and liability. Every time a change is made, it is retroactive. With occurrence policies, terms and conditions will never retroactively change to reduce your coverage.
Partner with CG Insurance Group
CG Insurance Group offers specialized insurance for dental practices including malpractice and commercial liability insurance. Our insurance offerings go above and beyond to protect you and your practice from any manner of liabilities and occurrences. To learn more about our dental insurance solutions, contact us today at (410) 504-6727.