Most medical students assume malpractice coverage is settled the moment they put on a white coat: the school has a policy, the hospital has a policy, so someone must be covering them. Often that is true only up to a point — and the gaps surface when you can least afford them.
Where School and Site Policies Fall Short
An institutional policy is written to protect the institution first. Three gaps matter most:
- It may not follow you. Coverage is often limited to activities your school formally sponsors — an away elective, an observership, or volunteer clinical work can fall outside it, and many host sites demand separate proof of coverage before you start.
- Limits may be low or shared. Some programs carry modest limits spread across every enrolled student, so the protection left for your claim depends on the year's other claims.
- You may not be named individually. If you are not a named insured, the insurer's duty runs to the school — and when your interests diverge from the school's in a claim, you may need your own defense.
What a Policy in Your Own Name Changes
An individual student policy names you, travels with you from rotation to rotation, and provides limits that are yours alone. It also produces the certificate of insurance that away rotations increasingly require — often the fastest way to clear a host hospital's paperwork.
Impact on MedMal Insurance
Student policies are among the least expensive malpractice products on the market, and carrying one keeps a supervised mishap from becoming an uncovered personal claim. A continuously covered record now also makes for cleaner underwriting when you buy your first attending policy.
Your school's policy protects the school. Make sure something protects you.
Not sure what your school's policy actually covers? SelectFirst Insurance can quote an individual student malpractice policy in your own name in minutes.