Why COVID Testing Labs Should Carry General Liability Insurance
The first pandemic in over 100 years has held America in its crushing grip for over a year now. Social distancing, face masks, and contact-free everything is now the norm. Since the start of COVID-19, the demand for competent and accurate COVID testing labs has grown exponentially. That increased demand has created a niche area for labs to fill, but in doing so, they can leave themselves open to litigation. That’s why general liability insurance is a must for any COVID testing lab.
General Liability Insurance Is Vital for Any COVID Testing Lab
Finding the right insurance for a medical laboratory can be overwhelming. At NOW Insurance, we work with healthcare businesses and professionals to offer simple, fast, and comprehensive insurance plans tailored to your specific needs.
What Is General and Professional Liability Insurance?
We recommend both general and professional liability insurance policies for COVID testing labs and other medical labs. These two coverage types complement each other to offer you essential coverage against claims against your lab resulting from daily operations and work performed by employees.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance policies help protect small businesses from costs that could arise from bodily injuries or property damage that you’re legally responsible for. This includes medical expenses, legal fees, and other costs, which can add up quickly. Essentially, general liability covers third-party damages or injuries. Having this type of comprehensive coverage is necessary to shield the lab from the financial fallout of a claim or allegation, particularly in the trying times of the pandemic.
Professional Liability Insurance
While general liability covers accidents or injuries that patrons may have on your property, professional liability insurance protects the lab against claims made by clients of negligence or errors. If they say that your services caused them financial hardship, and it directly resulted from a mistake you made or because you failed to perform an essential service, you can be held liable. We protect you from the financial costs associated with those mistakes.
What Are Some Risks for COVID-19 Testing Labs?
COVID labs, in particular, can benefit from securing general liability insurance. We protect all different kinds: those in a physical building, mobile labs, and pop-up test sites, too. Issues can arise during daily operations that you could be held legally responsible for. With COVID-19 being relatively new, there’s not much precedence for claims like these. That’s why it’s vital to have coverage from all angles to be prepared for any eventuality.
Accidents
Accidents happen. Even for permanent labs that have unexpectedly taken on COVID-19 testing, there is still a chance that an accident can occur, especially when employees are undergoing new procedures and new protocol. It seems like legislation changes every day regarding COVID-19 safety and compliance for businesses and we see different regulations across state lines. Common accidents, like slips and falls, always remain a risk. That’s why it’s crucial to be covered and guard against the high legal fees and settlements associated with such claims.
Under-trained Staff
Just as new protocols and procedures put staff at risk for accidents, another factor that could lead to issues is new employees. If you’ve ever driven by a testing site, you’ve seen the lines and lines of cars waiting. New employees are working long days doing repetitive work out in the elements and wearing uncomfortable PPE gear. Those factors could lead to mistakes with patient info, samples, mislabeling, or improper storage.
Data Breach
Another issue is handling sensitive patient data. Medical testing labs collect and store information that is governed by HIPAA. The data in COVID-19 labs is confidential, sensitive, and a target for hackers or a data breach. Healthcare businesses these days cannot afford to go without cyber insurance. It provides protection against cyber-attacks, breaches, and even bad intentions by internal actors. Use our cyber risk assessment tool to get more details on your specific company’s risk.
Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice is a term that no medical professional likes to hear. Malpractice insurance is the same as professional liability, so your professional liability policy will cover these types of claims. If a client claims your lab made an error, or worse, someone was harmed because of an error, the financial consequences can spiral, not to mention the time required to deal with legal proceedings of a lawsuit. Medical malpractice claims are also harmful to a lab’s reputation and can have far-reaching consequences. We help labs prepare for any malpractice claims and help you get out ahead of the issue before it snowballs.
Liability Insurance Gives Your Lab Considerable Benefits
Adequate insurance helps protect labs and allows them to practice in peace, so that can focus on their patients and focus on processing as many tests as possible as quickly as possible while the pandemic remains a difficult part of our lives. Claims can be inconvenient and scary, but they prevent but insurance prevents your company from going out of business.
NOW Insurance provides fast, easy and affordable insurance for medical labs, whether they are handling COVID tests or other types. Socially distance your lab and your employees from COVID-19 claims by getting a quick and easy immediate quote from our online application.
Related Articles:
Covering COVID-19: Is Your Medical Lab at Risk?
6 Risks Lab Techs Face Without Professional Liability Insurance
