Indemnity insurance for doctors in India: what it actually covers

Most doctors in India know they should have indemnity insurance. Far fewer can say, specifically, what their own policy actually covers, whether their employer's cover extends to them personally, or what happens if a claim surfaces after they've changed jobs. That gap tends to stay invisible until a claim forces the question.

This isn't a recommendation for a specific insurer or policy — it's a guide to the questions worth asking about whatever cover you already have, or are about to buy.

What professional indemnity insurance is for

Indemnity insurance responds to civil claims of professional negligence — a patient or their family alleging that your care fell below an acceptable standard and caused harm. It typically covers legal defence costs and any damages awarded, up to the policy limit.

It is not the same as your hospital's general liability or property insurance, and it is not automatically the same as whatever cover your employer holds for the institution. Those are different products covering different risks.

Employer cover vs. your own cover

Many doctors assume that if they work for a hospital, they're covered by the hospital's policy and don't need their own. This is sometimes true and sometimes not, and the difference matters:

• Institutional policies often cover the hospital as an entity, and may or may not name individual practitioners as covered persons.
• Some employer policies do extend to employed doctors, but with limits, exclusions, or a requirement that the claim relate to acts performed within the scope of your employment there.
• Private practice, locum work, and anything outside your primary employment is very unlikely to be covered by an employer's policy at all.

If you don't know which category your situation falls into, the way to find out is to ask your employer for the actual policy document — not a verbal assurance that "you're covered" — and check whether you are named or covered as a class of employee, and under what conditions.

Claims-made vs. occurrence-based cover

This distinction causes real problems for doctors who don't know it exists.

A claims-made policy only responds if the policy is active at the time the claim is made — not necessarily when the incident occurred. If you change jobs, let a policy lapse, or retire, and a claim arises later relating to care you gave while that policy was active, a claims-made policy with no extension may not respond.

An occurrence-based policy responds based on when the incident happened, regardless of whether the policy is still active when the claim is made.

If your cover is claims-made — which is common — ask specifically about tail cover (sometimes called run-off cover): an extension that keeps you protected for claims made after the policy ends, relating to work done while it was active. This is exactly the kind of gap that surfaces years after the fact, when a claim arrives long after you've moved to a different employer or a different country.

What indemnity typically does not cover

Policies vary, but a few exclusions are common enough to check for specifically:

• Criminal proceedings. Indemnity insurance generally responds to civil negligence claims, not criminal prosecution arising from the same incident.
• Acts outside your registered scope of practice. Cover is usually tied to procedures and care within your qualification and registration.
• Disciplinary proceedings before your state medical council, which is a separate process from a civil claim and is not automatically covered by the same policy that covers negligence litigation.
• Prior known circumstances — if you were already aware of a potential claim before the policy started, most policies exclude it.

None of these should be assumed present or absent — read the specific exclusions in your own policy document.

Questions worth asking before you assume you're covered

1. Am I individually named or covered under this policy, or does it cover the institution only?
2. Is this claims-made or occurrence-based, and if claims-made, is tail cover included or available?
3. Does this cover locum, private practice, or telemedicine work I do outside my primary employer?
4. What is the coverage limit, and is it per claim or aggregate across a policy period?
5. What specifically is excluded?

Where to verify this

Indemnity insurance is a contractual product, and the specific terms, exclusions, and limits differ by insurer and by policy — this page describes the general shape of what to check, not the terms of any particular product. Read your own policy document, and where anything is unclear, ask the insurer or a professional indemnity specialist directly before assuming you understand your own cover.

Primary sources

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
• State Medical Councils — contact list, National Medical Commission