There are two basic types of malpractice insurance: "claims-made" and "occurrence-made."
 
Claims-Made Malpractice Insurance
 
Claims-Made insurance protects a physician from a malpractice claim only if the same company which insured the physician has been the physician’s continuous malpractice carrier at the time a claim is filed.
 
Claims-Made policies generally are less expensive than Occurrence-Made policies. Tail Insurance (Extended Reporting Period) must be purchased (even if the physician has a new malpractice policy) by a physician if he or she leaves his or her practice and discontinues coverage with the Claims-Made malpractice insurance carrier. The Tail Insurance allows a physician to report claims which occurred while the physician was insured, but which come in after the Claims-Made policy was terminated. The cost of tail insurance is a one time assessment and can be a significant amount.
 
Occurrence-Made Malpractice Insurance
 
Occurrence-Made insurance protects a physician against incidents which occur while the policy is in effect, regardless of when the claim is filed.
 
Occurrence-Made insurance can be significantly more expensive than Claims-Made insurance.
 
Tail coverage with Occurrence-Made policies is not necessary if a physician discontinues the policy, because the cost of extending the physician’s claims’ reporting period is already factored into the annual premium.