Medical Malpractice Insurance vs. General Liability: What Healthcare Providers in the UAE Need to Know

Factor

MedicalMalpractice Insurance

General Liability Insurance

Covered Incidents

Professional negligence, errors, or omissions in medical services.

Bodily injury or property damage to third parties (excluding professional services).

Whom does it protect?

Healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, specialists, therapists, and sometimes the healthcare facility itself, depending on policy, are involved.

The facility is a business/healthcare facility itself.

Type of Claim

The claims allege patient harm due to substandard professional care.

Claims alleging bodily injury or property damage occurring on the premises or due to business operations are commonly filed.

Examples

●      Misdiagnosis

●      Surgical errors

●      Medication errors

●      Failure to obtain informed consent Improper treatment

●      Birth injuries

●      Anesthesia errors

●      Dental Malpractice

●      The patient slips and falls in the waiting room.

●      Damage to patient’s personal belongings on the premises.

●      A fire in the clinic damages a neighboring business.

●      The case involves an advertising injury (libel, slander).

●      Faulty equipment.

●      Food poisoning in a hospital cafeteria.

Basis of Claim

Alleged failure to meet the accepted standard of care within the profession.

Negligence or other legal fault.

Legal Defense

Typically includes coverage for legal defense costs, even if the claim is frivolous.

Typically includes coverage for legal defense costs.

Settlement/Judgment

Covers settlements or judgments up to the policy limits.

Covers settlements or judgments up to the policy limits.

Reputation Damage

While it doesn’t directly cover reputation damage, it helps protect against financial losses from claims that could damage reputation.

It is less directly related to professional reputation but protects the business from financial harm due to incidents.

Licensing Board Actions

May offer some coverage or defense for actions brought by professional licensing boards

Generally, it does not cover actions by licensing boards.

Cost

Typically, it is more expensive due to the higher risk of large payouts.

Generally, less expensive than medical malpractice insurance.

Claims-Made vs. Occurrence

Often, the policy is “claims-made,” meaning it must be active when the claim is reported, not just when the incident occurs.

It can be “occurrence-based,” covering incidents that occurred during the policy period, regardless of when they were reported.