When a physician applies for privileges at a hospital, they are required to have professional liability insurance. When that physician is an employee of the hospital, the insurance is provided by the employing facility.
But if the physician is on a locum tenens assignment or a moonlighter working through an independent contractor, the insurance may be provided by the physician themselves or the staffing company.
Proof of coverage is documented by providing the facility with a certification of liability insurance form (COI). The COI is not the insurance policy, rather it is a summary of existing insurance coverage. It’s purpose is to establish proof of insurance, including:
- Type of insurance policy
- Coverage limits
- Policy effective dates
Credentialing
When you apply to a new facility, you may often be asked for COIs from your previous workplaces. This is so that your new facility can get a snapshot of any malpractice cases that you may have been mentioned on in the past.
At the point in time when you complete fellowship, Moonlighting Solutions can provide you with copies of your COI(s) that were provided to the facilities for your moonlighting work.
The Certificate
It is important to know what the information on the COI means. And while there is no standard COI form, ACORD (Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development – a nonprofit property and casualty insurance organization) provides a generic form blank used by most insurers.
Let’s review a Moonlighting Solutions COI as an example. The COI from MLS is on an ACORD form and the information on it includes:
| Date | When form was issued |
| Disclaimer | Summarizing the nature of the COI |
| Producer | The insurance agent who issued the certificate |
| Insured | The name and address of the person(s) or business covered by policy |
| Insurance Coverages | The insured’s liability insurance coverages, the policy numbers, and their effective and expiration dates – typically liability |
| Insurers | All companies providing the coverage listed above |
| Limits of Liability | How much coverage in dollars each policy provides with coverage subtype |
| Description of Operations, Locations, Vehicles | A catch-all space to respond to specific requests such as being listed as an additional insured |
| Certificate Holder | The person/company to whom the COI was issued |
| Cancellation | Notice that the certificate holder will be notified if the insured cancels the policy before the expiration date |
| Signature | Signature of agent, broker, or authorized representative. |
