Medical Indemnity Insurance For Doctors – What is a “no hammer” clause ?
In its simplest form, a “no hammer” clause in a professional indemnity insurance policy gives the right to the professional to not settle a claim even if the insurer wants to. As a professional you may not want to settle because you feel that you did nothing wrong and it will damage your reputation or you want your day in court to be vindicated. You also do not want a ‘claim’ settled when you did nothing wrong because it will end up on your loss history costing you more for insurance premiums in the future.
Whilst this clause can be found in many policies in the USA, most medical malpractice insurance policies for doctors in Australia do not offer such a clause. One insurer does (at the time of writing), to a specific limit of $25,000 in additional cover in this regard.
Contact Experien General Insurance Services here if you would like further information on this topic.
