Insurer Adds Breach Protection

The Doctors Company, which sells malpractice insurance to physicians, in January started offering additional coverage to solo and small practices to protect them in instances of breaches of protected health information.

The new service covers regulatory and liability claims arising from the theft, loss or accidental transmission of confidential patient or financial information, as well as the cost of data recovery. Members can add the coverage, called CyberGuard at no additional cost upon renewal of their policies.

CyberGuard covers costs associated with HIPAA or government investigations, fines, patient notification, and credit monitoring services for affected individuals, as well as Red Flag rule violations. Coverage includes online and offline information, virus attacks, identity theft and the costs of data recovery. The coverage pays up to $5,000 for data recovery costs, and up to $50,000 for patient notification and credit monitoring, network security and privacy, and regulatory costs. All coverage is subject to a maximum aggregate limit of liability of $50,000.

The Doctors Company instituted the coverage in response to customers' requests for assistance in handling information breaches, says Brendan Doherty, manager of marketing and public relations. More information is available at thedoctors.com/cyberguard.

-- Joseph Goedert