Hi Jennifer,
My professional liability carrier is offering a waiver of consent option for a 5% policy discount to insured physicians. If you waive your rights requiring your consent before a settlement, and authorize the carrier to act on your behalf to settle any claims reported without first obtaining your written consent—you will receive a 5% discount. Are there any risks?
Thanks.
Dr. V
Answer:
Sure, you are waiving your rights to have a say in liability impacting you and your license. I strongly recommend refusing to waive consent. The carrier's interests and your interests are often not aligned. Remember, defense counsel, assigned by the carrier, and paid for by the carrier, may be appearing on your behalf, but, answers to the insurance carrier. Sometimes paying more legal fees to clear your name may not be in the best interest of the insurance carrier footing the bill. By waiving your right to consent, you are giving the insurance carrier and their attorney carte blanche to make any and all decisions that may potentially impact your license and reputation on a go-forward basis.
Moreover, during the course of a defense case, I recommend you be involved - ask for regular status updates and make sure your interests are being zealously represented; is the legal team selected finding supportive experts? Lodging a proper defense? If you have doubts or are not sure, don't be shy bringing in your own attorney to assist assessing and monitoring your interests. Trust your instincts. The longer you wait the harder missteps will be to correct...
