Pharmacist insurance is a specialized protection program for pharmacists. Eligible professionals are self-employed pharmacists, retail pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, pharmacy consultants, and long-term care pharmacists. Policies available are general liability, malpractice, workers' compensation, and more.
Malpractice is a very common exposure when working as a pharmacist. Patients can sue if they experience harm due to errors and oversights. Here are some examples:
A pharmacists working for a famous grocery store chain was sued for malpractice and fined $250,000.2 for not noticing the excessive dose of medicine given by the physician to a patient (Source: Lovecchio vs Romain and Rosenthal)
A pharmacist had to settle for $1 million after failing to evaluate the contraindication of escitalopram and methadone given to a patient (Source: Anton vs Brown)
You can get malpractice insurance as a protection. Also called referred as professional liability insurance, malpractice insurance provides $2 million-$3 million you can use to cover settlements, defense costs, and court judgments if you face a claim for:
Medical negligence
Misinterpreting the prescription of the physician
Giving the wrong medicine
Giving the wrong dosage of medicine
Pharmacist professional liability insurance is highly specialized. And so, it will also provide these benefits:
$25,000-$30,000 coverage for costs involving alleged and actual HIPAA violations
$5,000-$10,000 cost reimbursement for claims and investigations that professional regulatory boards file against you
$5,000-$10,000 for deposition expenses
$500-$850 lost income reimbursement if you can’t work to attend a trial
$25,000-$50,000 for settlements, defense costs, and court judgments if a patient accuses you of committing molestation or sexual abuse
As a pharmacist, you might also be liable for the bodily injuries or property damage of patients, vendors, independent contractors, and other third parties.
General liability insurance provides $1 million-$2 million each time a third party files a claim for bodily injury or property damage. Use this to:
Cover the medical treatment of the claimant
Reimburse the damaged property of the claimant
Pay attorney fees, investigation fees, and other defense costs
Cover court judgments
You get general liability insurance as a broad-form policy. And so, this pharmacist liability insurance grants additional benefits, particularly
$2 million coverage for your liability to products and completed operations
$1 million coverage for slander, libel, breach of confidentiality, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement claims
$300,000 indemnification to the landlord if a space you’re renting gets damaged by fire
You might be eligible for a short-term general liability policy. Short-term general liability insurance provides coverage for hours, days, weeks, or months. You get to choose how long the policy provides protection. This is recommended for pharmacy students looking for a quick coverage during their internship. Options for short-term general liability insurance are Hiscox, Thimble, and The Hartford.
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If you own a car and use it occasionally for business purposes, then consider replacing your personal auto insurance with commercial auto insurance.
Commercial auto insurance grants protection while you’re driving a vehicle to join a conference on behalf of your employer or your business, meet clients, haul supplies and materials, or attend work.
The features of commercial auto insurance vary. Nonetheless, these are its common uses:
Provide $300,000 minimum coverage for bodily injuries or property damage you cause while driving a car for commercial purposes
Cover parts repair or replacement and labor costs if your car gets damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, civil commotion, riot, collision, and other covered perils
Reimburse vehicle rental expenses and public transportation costs. You get $30-$50 per day capped at $900-$1,500
Provide coverage in accidents that an underinsured/uninsured car caused and cover your medical treatment and the passenger’s medical treatment
Temporary car insurance is useful during days when you need to borrow the car of a friend, parent, or colleague. This insurance grants protection for 1-28 days. Coverage applies regardless if you’re using the vehicle for commercial or personal purposes and a covered peril happens.
Malpractice insurance only covers sexual harassment claims filed by patients. Coverage doesn’t apply if associates sue you for it.
Employment practices liability insurance grants protection against sexual harassment claims filed by employees. In fact, other violations of employee rights are also covered such as:
Wrongful termination
Discrimination
Failure to promote
Retaliation
Supervisory negligence
Failure to hire
Employment practices liability insurance grants a minimum $25,000-$100,000 you can use to cover settlements, defense costs, and court judgments each time an employee files a claim for the reasons we stated above. Higher limits are available upon your underwriter’s discretion.
Workers' compensation insurance is useful if you’re a self-employed pharmacist or a solo consultant pharmacist with one or more associates.
This insurance isn’t very important if you’re employed as your employer already grants this coverage. Nonetheless, there’s no problem if you decide to get workers' compensation insurance for yourself.
Workers' compensation insurance applies if you or your full-time and part-time employees sustain an occupational disease or injury. Purchasing this insurance allows you to cover the following costs without using company or personal funds:
Surgeries, therapies, EMT service fees, and other costs for medical treatment
Hospital bills for laboratory, nursing, food, lodging, imaging, etc.
Prescription medicines
After-hospital visits
Expenses for rehabilitation and retraining
Lost wages
Funeral expenses and allowance to dependents.
Workers' compensation insurance has no set limits. The worker's comp law of your state determines how much money you can get from workers comp.
Associates can sue you for work-related injury or disease. They might cite your negligence and failure to provide adequate training or a safe working environment.
You can include an employer’s liability coverage to workers' compensation insurance. Use this to cover settlements, defense costs, and court judgments if employees hold you liable for their occupational injury or disease.
The limits of employer’s liability insurance are reflected in your worker's compensation insurance quote. The minimum amount of coverage you get is $100,000 per employee injury by accident, $500,000 per employee injury by disease, and $500,000 for all claims.
Though not included in pharmacist liability insurance packages, commercial property insurance is available as a stand-alone policy. Consider getting this if you run a pharmacy and pharmacist’s consultation office.
Commercial property insurance will cover the replacement cost of the building you own, rent, or lease to provide services, store, and sell medicines. The minimum coverage you get is $10,000-$25,000. Commercial property insurance applies when building destruction or damage is caused by:
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Malicious mischief
Civil commotion
Riot
Sprinkler leakage
Volcanic action
Sinkhole collapse
Lightning
Hail
Winds
Snow
Rain
You can also use commercial property insurance to recover losses if credit cards, computers, patient medical records, and other valuables inside the building get damaged or lost due to the perils above.
Most of the time, commercial property insurance will come with a business interruption floater.
Business interruption insurance supplements lost revenues if you need to relocate, renovate a damaged building, and wait for an economic crisis to pass.
The insurance money you receive from business interruption insurance can be used to cover employee wages, utility services, loans, mortgage, rent, lease, and other operational costs.
Business interruption insurance doesn’t cover pandemics and epidemics. However, it’s sometimes possible to use this insurance in such situations if you contest in a court of law.
You can also add an equipment breakdown floater to commercial property insurance. Equipment breakdown insurance provides $2,500-$10,000 coverage you can use to repair or replace pharmacy equipment and tools that get damaged or lost due to:
Electrical surge
Electrical shorts
Mechanical breakdown
Operator error
Impact
Electrical breakdown
Equipment breakdown insurance is sometimes offered as a floater to general liability insurance. If you get it this way, you only enjoy $2,500-$5,000 coverage.
A business owner’s policy is a combination of general liability and commercial property insurance. Get this if you’re looking for a quick coverage against liabilities and business property damage or loss.
So why get a business owner’s policy? One advantage is that its cost is cheaper than buying general liability insurance and commercial property insurance separately. Moreover, a business owner’s policy might offer floaters for additional protection.
There’s no fixed rate for the pharmacist liability insurance cost. Insurance companies consider many factors when determining how much you can expect to pay for insurance coverage.
One of the first things that insurance companies will look at is your range of qualifications as a pharmacist. Insurance companies don’t know you well enough to determine how good of a job you do as a pharmacist, so they look at things like qualifications so they can have at least some idea of that.
If you’re just getting started in your pharmaceutical career, then you can bet that your insurance premiums will be a lot higher than a veteran pharmacist who has a proven track record.
If you have a history of making mistakes and filing claims, then you can expect to pay more for your insurance coverage. On the other hand, if your record is spotless, an insurer will be more inclined to trust you.
| Company | Cost per month | Cost per year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoverWallet | $53.25 | $639.00 | Pharmacist insurance online quotes comparison |
| Tivly | $56 | $672 | Comparing pharmacist insurance quotes over the phone |
| APHA | $65 | $780 | Small-scale pharmacists |
| ASHP | $68 | $816 | Pharmacists working in hospitals |
| HPSO | $72 | $864 | Pharmacists with many clients |
| Proliability | $73 | $876 | Comprehensive coverage |
To gather the numbers up above, we made sure to use the credentials of a pharmacist who has made no prior claims or caused any issues before.
The average cost of pharmacist insurance is about $69.50 per month or $834 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage.
Compare quotes before getting covered. Start by clicking the “Get Quotes” button on this page. Also, consider doing these things to decrease your premiums:
Pay a deductible of $1,500 for general liability insurance, $2,000 for professional liability insurance, and $3,000 for commercial property insurance
Become a member of pharmacist organizations that are partners of reputable insurance companies
Buy two or more insurance products from the same company to get a 5%-10% discount
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
If you’re searching for the best possible coverage, then you’ll need to find out which is the best pharmacist insurance company. These are the companies that provide the best pharmacist liability insurance. Read to know their pros, cons, and pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage.
Compare pharmacist insurance quotes online
No deductibles on general liability insurance
No hidden charges
Cancel your policy anytime for free
Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
CoverWallet is an insurance broker with an online quotes comparison platform for druggist liability insurance and property insurance policies. And so, with this company, you can look for the best options in one go.
Consider this company if you’re a pharmacist involved in the compounding and manufacturing of drugs.
CoverWallet allows you to buy its quotes online or through a representative. The general liability policies from this broker have a $1 million-$2 million per occurrence limit. Professional liability insurance, on the other hand, has a $2 million limit.
Upon buying insurance, CoverWallet automatically creates an account for you in its MyCoverWallet app. Use this account to pay for premiums, manage policies, view policy limits, and get a certificate of insurance online.
Best for: Pharmacist insurance online quotes comparison
Average cost: $53.25 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Compare pharmacist insurance quotes over the phone
Will refer you to partners if it can’t provide coverage
A partner of many reputable insurance companies
You need to call to get a quote
Tivly (formerly CommercialInsurance.NET) covers a wide range of professions and businesses. Policies you can get from this company are general liability, workers' compensation, commercial property, and other business insurance policies.
Call Tivly now to know if you can get covered and pharmacist insurance quotes over the phone.
Best for: Comparing pharmacist insurance quotes over the phone
Average cost: $56 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Provides you with an attorney
Available as part of ASHP membership
Reasonable price
Not very flexible
ASHP stands for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and it is a professional society that is made for pharmacists who work in hospitals and other health environments. They have several publications and they work closely with insurance companies to provide their members with coverage.
The ASHP mainly focuses on providing their members with professional liability insurance, especially when that of their employer does not extend to them. Their policies come with a member’s attorney and they cover lost wages, court costs, and other costs that are caused by the claim. Note that ASHP pharmacist liability insurance is underwritten by Mercer.
Best for: Pharmacists working in hospitals
Average cost: $68 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Huge range of coverage options
Experience working with pharmacists
Wage loss coverage included
Some customers report that the online insurance application isn’t smooth
Proliability is a professional liability insurance group that covers many employees and even students in the healthcare field. They are administered by Mercer, and they work with physical therapists, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists.
Proliability features professional liability coverage for pharmacists with relatively high maximum limits of up to $3 million. They also offer to cover your legal representation and provide you with up to $25,000 of HIPAA coverage. Their policies come with many more forms of coverage than just these, including some optional ones.
Best for: Comprehensive coverage
Average cost: $73 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Also sells pharmacy technician liability insurance with a $3 million aggregate limit
Range of coverage options
HIPAA coverage
Malpractice insurance doesn’t come with cyber liability floater
HPSO stands for Healthcare Providers Service Organization, and they have been working in this field for over 30 years, providing malpractice insurance to healthcare professionals. The company is a subsidiary of AON.
HPSO has a wide range of coverage options for pharmacists, including professional liability insurance and license protection insurance. Other forms of coverage offered by HPSO include defendant expense benefit, deposition representation, and even assault coverage.
Best for: Pharmacists with many clients
Average cost: $72 per month
Our rating: 8/10
Good aggregates
Versatile coverage
The same coverage as HPSO
APHA stands for the American Pharmacists Association. First established in 1852, APHA has been representing the interests of American pharmacists for nearly 200 years. The organization is known for hosting its own peer-reviewed publications and for representing over 60,000 pharmacists across the United States.
HPSO provides and manages APHA pharmacist liability insurance. This means that the coverage you get from this company is the same as that of HPSO’s. However, what APHA can offer is a discount on HPSO coverage through their membership.
Best for: Small-scale pharmacists
Average cost: $65 per month
Our rating: 8/10
1 / 5
Use anyone except Employers. Period. They are non-transparent and shameful. After I complained long enough to warrant a call from a supervisor, the supervisor called back from a PRIVATE NUMBER (no caller ID), left a message that they are not reversing their decision (without any communication with me), and failed to leave a phone number for me to call back. She was hiding! They also fact find via email and phone calls, which is terrific for speed and communication. However, after setting a precedence of email or phone calls, they send time sensitive information via email, without any heads up... they are hoping you miss it and forfeit via expiration. Evil policies. Go elsewhere.
1 / 5
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
1 / 5
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
5 / 5
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
5 / 5
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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