How to Navigate a Non-Renewal Notice from Your Medical Malpractice Insurer

1. How to Navigate a Non-Renewal Notice from Your Medical Malpractice Insurer You opened a letter or email that says your medical malpractice insurance will not be renewed. This is not the same as a mid-term cancellation. A nonrenewal means the insurer plans to end coverage at the normal expiration date. State rules usually require advance notice and, in many states, a written reason. What you do next determines whether you keep continuous protection for prior work and avoid credentialing problems.

2. What does a nonrenewal mean for your medical malpractice insurance Read the notice carefully and record four facts: ● Effective date of nonrenewal ● Reason the insurer provides, if any ● Whether a basic extended reporting period is included ● The contact person and method for underwriting or appeals Medical malpractice insurance nonrenewal timing and content are set by state law and vary widely. Never assume your state follows another state’s rules.

3. Why physicians receive nonrenewal notices Common drivers include: ● Multiple paid or high-severity claims, or a spike in frequency ● Material change in practice, such as new procedures, new privileges, or expanded exposure ● Relocation or venue risk, the carrier will not write ● Licensing or disciplinary actions ● Portfolio or reinsurance changes that reduce appetite for your specialty Insurers can nonrenew at expiration, but they must follow state notice requirements and, where applicable, state the reason. Know your rights and deadlines ● Notice period. States set minimum lead times before the expiration date. Verify your exact requirement on your state regulator’s site. ● Reason requirement. Some states require a specific reason for nonrenewal. If your notice is silent where a reason is required, request a corrected notice in writing. ● Adverse action based on a consumer report. If credit or any consumer report influenced the decision, you are entitled to an adverse action notice with instructions to review the report. First 48 hours after a nonrenewal notice

4. 1. Call the underwriting contact. Ask if reconsideration is possible with a higher deductible, procedure changes, proctoring, or a risk management plan. 2. Request complete loss runs for five to seven years. 3. Assemble a full underwriting package so you can market the account immediately. Also, read about:How to Choose the Right Medical Malpractice Insurance Underwriting package for malpractice insurance for physicians ● Completed application and any carrier supplements ● Loss runs plus short claim narratives with status and remediation ● Current policy, endorsement schedule, and retroactive date ● CVs, privileges, procedures, call schedule, and telemedicine footprint ● Risk management documentation, such as consent forms, timeout checklists, peer review, and CME

5. Protect prior acts and avoid gaps in medical malpractice insurance Most physician policies are claims-made. A claim must be made and reported while coverage is in force. If you change carriers after a nonrenewal, you must either: ●Buy tail coverage from the incumbent, or ● Bind a new policy that includes prior acts with the same retroactive date Do not allow the retroactive date to reset unless you also secure tail coverage. Basic extended reporting periods are short and are not a substitute for a full tail.

6. Strategy to keep continuous protection and manage malpractice insurance costs ● Seek conditional reinstatement if the underwriter will engage. Offer a higher deductible, procedure restrictions, proctoring, or a targeted risk plan. ● Shop early through a broker with access to multiple A-rated carriers that will accept prior acts. ● If prior acts are unavailable, compare the total cost of a standalone tail with a clean go- forward policy. Choose the combination that preserves continuous protection at the lowest total cost of risk. ● Confirm hospital and contract requirements for limits, consent to settle language, and proof of continuous medical malpractice insurance. Timeline checklist 60 to 120 days before expiration ● Verify the statutory notice period and confirm compliance ● Submit a mitigation plan if reconsideration is possible ● Begin marketing with your complete underwriting package 30 days before expiration ● Finalize quotes and obtain prior acts terms in writing ● If buying tail coverage, request the formal quote and binding instructions ● Prepare certificates for credentialing 10 days before expiration ● Bind the replacement policy or tail coverage ● Verify limits and the retroactive date match the quote

7. ● Send binders and certificates to all credentialing contacts On the expiration date ● Save bind confirmations, tail endorsements, and certificates in your credentialing file ● Calendar any election windows for supplemental reporting periods Details that commonly cause problems ● Retroactive date missing or reset on the new policy ● Consent to settle and hammer clause changes hidden in new terms ● Jurisdiction and venue not aligned with telemedicine or multi-state practice ● Entity or locum tenens coverage was omitted during the switch ● Tail coverage purchase window missed after expiration When to involve your state regulator Escalate to your state department of insurance if the carrier ignores a required notice period, fails to provide a reason where the law requires one, or refuses to provide loss runs. Cite the specific rule and include copies of your policy and correspondence. FAQs that match search intent Is nonrenewal the same as cancellation for medical malpractice insurance? No. Cancellation ends a policy mid-term for limited reasons. Nonrenewal ends the policy at expiration. Do I always need tail coverage after a nonrenewal? You need tail coverage if your new policy does not include prior acts with the same retro date. If the new carrier provides prior acts that match your retro date, tail is usually not required.

8. How long is the basic extended reporting period? Often measured in days. It is designed to report claims that have already occurred and does not replace a full tail. How do claims-made vs occurrence malpractice policies differ? Claims made require the claim to be reported while the policy is active and often require tail coverage when you leave. Occurrence covers incidents that happen during the policy term and usually does not require a tail.