Placing complex risk in the Miscellaneous Medical Liability marketplace

The name “Miscellaneous Medical Liability Insurance” might sound a  like a grey area, but it’s actually black and white with the name representing the broad variety of medical-related risks that the product is designed to insure. While some insurers refer to this segment as “allied medical risks,” we feel that “miscellaneous medical risks” is a broader term signifying that certain, more complex risks are covered. 

The universe of complex, medical-related risks continues to expand as insureds change their services and operations beyond their original footprint to compete and grow. Examples of specialty risks considered complex that we have covered include yoga wellness retreat getaways for which the instructor is an MD,  confined rescue training and operations, and alternative medicine providers such as ketamine therapy clinics.

Placing complex risk in this marketplace is not without its challenges, with wholesale brokers reporting that underwriters will not always consider risks that don’t fit inside a prescribed box. The trouble with risk, though, is that it is varied and unpredictable by its very nature – meaning that a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works best for insureds. 

Almost all insurance professionals know this to be the case, but a combination of understaffing in recent years, and a lack of genuine expertise in niche segments such as healthcare, has made some insurance providers move towards a more simplified underwriting appetite. This may seem like a commercially sensible solution to the issue, but the danger is ending up with dissatisfied clients – and this is one of the very few risks that we at Beazley are not prepared to take.

Miscellaneous medical liability insurance products are, by their very nature, often difficult to navigate. Brokers use them to provide solutions to a wide array of medical professional clients who have complex insurance needs. Given the complex and varied areas a miscellaneous medical liability policy covers, we know that simple language is crucial. Brokers need to be able to find important information quickly, and jargon-heavy wording only increases the time and effort they need to invest in finding the right solution for their client.

By the same token, having a policy form flexible enough to cover miscellaneous risks – and underwriters knowledgeable enough to provide solutions beyond typical markets – allows brokers to find tailored coverage for risks others are simply unwilling to consider. A policy form that allows the insurer to tailor the proper coverage for a variety of medical and quasi-medical risks shouldn’t be considered radical, but it is.

To remain at the cutting edge, insurers must be agile and adapt to changing market conditions and appetites. Increasing efficiency and improving process is at the heart of this. That’s why Beazley’s new MiscMed product is now modular, allowing insureds to customize the coverage they want in one policy form.