40-3402. Professional liability insurance to be maintained by health care providers as condition to rendering services in state, exception, limits of coverage; information to be furnished by insurer;
40-3402
40-3402. Professional liability insurance to be maintained by health careproviders as condition to rendering services in state, exception, limits ofcoverage; information to be furnished by insurer; termination of coverage,notice; contents of policies issued in state; duties of certain insurancecompanies; surcharge and information required of certain health care providers;occurrence form policy as alternative to required claims made policy forcertain persons.(a) A policy of professional liability insurance approved by the commissionerand issued by an insurer duly authorized to transact business in this state inwhich the limit of the insurer's liability is not less than $200,000 per claim,subject to not less than a $600,000 annual aggregatefor all claimsmade during the policy period, shall be maintained in effect by each residenthealth care provider as a condition to rendering professional service as ahealth care provider in this state, unless such health care provider is aself-insurer. This provision shall not apply to optometrists and pharmacists onor after July 1, 1991 nor to physical therapists on and after July 1, 1995nor to health maintenance organizations on or after July 1, 1997.Such policy shall provide as a minimum coverage forclaims made during the term of the policy which were incurred during the termof such policy or during the prior term of a similar policy. Any insureroffering such policy of professional liability insurance to any health careprovider may offer to such health care provider a policy as prescribed in thissection with deductible options. Such deductible shall be within such policylimits.
(1) Each insurer providing basic coverage shall within 30 days after thepremium for the basic coverage is received by the insurer or within 30 daysfrom the effective date of this act, whichever is later, notify the board ofgovernors that such coverage is or will be ineffect. Such notificationshall be on a form approved by the board of governors andshall include informationidentifying the professional liability policy issued or to be issued, the nameand address of all health care providers covered by the policy, the amount ofthe annual premium, the inception and expiration dates of the coverage and suchother information as the board of governors shall require.A copy of thenotice required by this subsection shall be furnished the named insured.
(2) In the event of termination of basic coverage by cancellation,nonrenewal, expiration or otherwise by either the insurer or namedinsured, notice of such termination shall be furnished by the insurer tothe board of governors, the state agency which licenses,registers orcertifies the named insured and the named insured. Such notice shall beprovided no less than 30 days prior to the effective date of any terminationinitiated by the insurer or within 10 days after the date coverage isterminated at the request of the named insured and shall include the name andaddress of the health care provider or providers for whom basic coverage isterminated and the date basic coverage will cease to be in effect. No basiccoverage shall be terminated by cancellation or failure to renew by the insurerunless such insurer provides a notice of termination as required by thissubsection.
(3) Any professional liability insurance policy issued, delivered orin effect in this state on and after July1, 1976,shall contain or be endorsed to provide basic coverage as required bysubsection (a) of this section. Notwithstanding any omitted orinconsistent language, any contract of professional liability insuranceshall be construed to obligate the insurer to meet all the mandatoryrequirements and obligations of this act. The liability of an insurerfor claims made prior to July 1, 1984, shall not exceed those limits ofinsurance provided by such policy prior to July 1, 1984.
(b) Unless a nonresident health care provider is a self-insurer,such health care provider shall not render professional service as a healthcareprovider in this state unless such health care provider maintains coveragein effectas prescribed by subsection (a), except such coverage may be provided by anonadmitted insurer who has filed the form required by subsection (b)(1). Thisprovision shall not apply to optometrists and pharmacists on or after July 1,1991 nor to physical therapists on and after July 1, 1995.
(1) Every insurance company authorized to transact business in thisstate, that is authorized to issue professional liability insurance inany jurisdiction, shall file with the commissioner, as a condition ofits continued transaction of business within this state, a formprescribed by the commissioner declaring that its professional liabilityinsurance policies, wherever issued, shall be deemed to provide at leastthe insurance required by this subsection when the insured is renderingprofessional services as a nonresident health care provider in thisstate. Any nonadmitted insurer may file such a form.
(2) Every nonresident health care provider who is required tomaintain basic coverage pursuant to this subsection shall pay thesurcharge levied by the board of governors pursuant tosubsection (a) ofK.S.A. 40-3404 and amendments thereto directly to the boardof governors andshall furnish to the board of governors the informationrequired in subsection(a)(1).
(c) Every health care provider that is a self-insurer, the university ofKansas medical center for persons engaged in residency training, as describedin subsection (r)(1) of K.S.A. 40-3401 and amendments thereto, the employers ofpersons engaged in residency training, as described in subsection (r)(2) ofK.S.A. 40-3401 and amendments thereto, the private practice corporations orfoundations and their full-time physician faculty employed by the university ofKansas medical center or a medical care facility or mental health center forself-insurers under subsection (e) of K.S.A. 40-3414 and amendments theretoshall pay the surcharge levied by the board of governorspursuant to subsection (a)of K.S.A. 40-3404 and amendments thereto directly to theboard of governors and shallfurnish to the board of governors the information requiredin subsection (a)(1) and(a)(2).
(d) In lieu of a claims made policy otherwise required under this section, aperson engaged in residency training who is providing services as a health careprovider but while providing such services is not covered by the self-insuranceprovisions of subsection (d) of K.S.A. 40-3414 and amendments thereto mayobtain basic coverage under an occurrence form policy if such policy providesprofessional liability insurance coverage and limits which are substantiallythe same as the professional liability insurance coverage and limits requiredby subsection (a) of K.S.A. 40-3402 and amendments thereto. Where suchoccurrence form policy is in effect, the provisions of the health care providerinsurance availability act referring to claims made policies shall be construedto mean occurrence form policies.
History: L. 1976, ch. 231, § 2; L. 1984, ch. 238, § 2; L. 1985,ch. 166, § 2; L. 1986, ch. 229, § 26; L. 1986, ch. 179, § 3; L. 1986ch. 184, § 2; L. 1989, ch. 143, § 2; L. 1990, ch. 175, § 2; L. 1991,ch. 139, § 2;L. 1994, ch. 155, § 1;L. 1995, ch. 145, § 1;L. 1997, ch. 134, § 1; July 1.