Buy Speech Therapy Insurance

Speech therapy business insurance is a type of insurance coverage designed specifically for speech therapists who run their own private practice.

This type of insurance provides protection for speech therapists and their businesses against financial losses and liability claims that may arise from the delivery of speech therapy services. Coverage may include general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, and property insurance, as well as insurance for injuries to clients or employees, damage to therapy equipment, and loss of income from business interruption.

The goal of speech therapy business insurance is to provide peace of mind and financial security to speech therapists, enabling them to focus on providing quality therapy services to their clients.

The average price of a standard $1,000,000/$2,000,000 General Liability Insurance policy for small speech therapy practices ranges from $27 to $49 per month based on location, size, payroll, sales and experience.

As a speech therapist, you've dedicated your career to helping others, and you should be free to focus on your clients without worrying about a threat to your livelihood.

With speech therapy insurance, you can have peace of mind knowing you're protected in the event of a claim or suit, a grievance from a regulatory board, plus many other coverage benefits.

The speech therapy insurance coverage you need depends on the details of your business and the risks you want to cover, but these are some of the insurance covers you may find useful:

Professional Liability - Also know as errors and omissions (E&O), this insurance covers negligence claims and allegations made against you by clients and third parties, because of negligence and mistakes you've made and things you've failed to do. Specifically (but depending on the policy language) it covers:

• Defamation
• Intellectual property infringement
• Loss of documents or data
• Negligent misrepresentation or misstatement
• Employee dishonesty
• Breach of confidentiality
• Failure of third-party equipment

Professional liability insurance is integral because no amount of training and experience can prepare you for the unexpected. Unavoidable mistakes occur or a client may simply be displeased with your work and seek to recover damages. These errors can threaten your career, as well as and result in time away from the office and costly settlements.

Commercial General Liability - This speech therapy insurance protects your firm if you cause injury or property damage to a third party. If a client falls and suffers an injury at your office, your CGL insurance covers direct costs related to the claim (e.g., medical bills) as well as lawsuit-related costs if you are sued. CGL insurance also pays for claims related to advertising liability, slander, libel and copyright infringement.

Workers Compensation - Required by law in most states for an non-owner employees, workers comp insurance pays for medical care and replaces a portion of lost wages for an employee who is injured in the course of employment, regardless of who was at fault for the injury. When a worker dies as a result of injuries sustained while working, the insurance provides compensation to the employee's family.

Business Property - business property coverage protects your property in and around your place of business. Many people refer to business property as contents coverage, for it responds when the furniture, computer equipment, inventory and equipment within your office, warehouse or location listed on your policy suffers a covered loss. It is important to maintain enough coverage to replace everything in your location, should you experience a total loss.

Umbrella Insurance - This type of speech therapy insurance policy doesn't cover everything as many people tend to think. Rather, it is an extension of other insurance policies you have already purchased. It is excess liability above the underlying liability policies and thus extends their coverage. It's mainly used for third party claims to ensure a lawsuit does not put you out of business.

Speech therapists can be sued for a variety of reasons, some of which include:

• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: If a speech therapist fails to properly diagnose or timely diagnose a patient's speech or language disorder, they may be sued for malpractice.
• Treatment Errors: If a speech therapist makes an error in the course of treatment, such as administering the wrong therapy or dosage, or failing to properly monitor a patient's progress, they may be sued for malpractice.
• Breach of Confidentiality: If a speech therapist violates a patient's confidentiality by sharing personal information without consent, they may be sued for breach of confidentiality.
• Negligence: If a speech therapist fails to follow proper protocols or standards of care, resulting in harm to a patient, they may be sued for negligence.

To protect against these types of lawsuits, speech therapists typically carry professional liability insurance, also known as malpractice insurance. This type of insurance helps cover legal costs associated with defending against a malpractice claim, as well as any damages awarded to the plaintiff.

For example, if a speech therapist is sued for misdiagnosis and their malpractice insurance policy has a limit of $1 million, the insurance company will typically provide legal representation and pay any damages awarded up to that limit. If the damages exceed the policy limit, the speech therapist may be personally responsible for the difference.

In cases of breach of confidentiality, a speech therapist's malpractice insurance may also provide coverage for the cost of notifying affected patients, as well as any regulatory fines or penalties that may be imposed.

In summary, professional liability insurance can help protect speech therapists from the financial consequences of malpractice claims and other lawsuits, and can provide peace of mind for both the therapist and their patients.