Hiscox Offering New Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability Coverage

March 9, 2018 by matray

Hiscox, the international specialist insurer, announced new coverages in their insurance policy for US businesses in the mental health industry. Hiscox PRO Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability offers a wide variety of specialized benefits for mental health professionals tailored to cover emerging risks in the allied healthcare field.

Underscoring the need and demand for this specialized insurance solution, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job growth for mental health counselors will increase by as much as 23 percent by 2026. Comparatively, the average projected job growth rate for all occupations during the same time period is 7 percent.

“Mental health treatment options, such as remote therapy and telehealth, are rapidly expanding in the US,” said Alicia Marsiglia, vice president and Allied Healthcare Product Head for Hiscox in the US. “As a result, we considered the unique exposures of the latest treatments and offerings in this space and designed a policy that provides greater coverage for companies on the cutting edge of this evolving industry.”

Coverage will apply to claims involving a variety of areas and treatment options, including:

• Outpatient mental healthcare
• Behavioral therapy
• Substance abuse counseling
• Medication management
• Partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs
• Remote therapy (teletherapy)

Medical directors, non-physician employees, independent contractors, students, volunteers (including mid-level providers) and employed or contracted physicians by endorsement are also included as insureds and receive key benefits, such as:

• Waiver of retention available for outpatient mental healthcare practices following exemplary risk management standards
• Billing and regulatory errors sublimit
• Sexual abuse and misconduct sublimit
• HIPAA liability sublimit
• Reported incident trigger of coverage
• Affirmative coverage for remote therapy services
• Duty to defend

The Hiscox PRO Outpatient Mental Healthcare Professional Liability offering can be combined with other insurance products — including General Liability, Technology E&O as well as Crime and Privacy — to create bespoke packages of coverage to fit an individual business’s needs.