Covers the legal liability and defence costs borne by the insured (medical staff and institutions) for bodily injury, death or property damage to a patient arising during medical treatment.
N2N Insurance Brokerage does not represent any single insurer — it independently represents the client as an FSS-registered broker (Reg. No. 2026-012201). We compare the wordings, rates and service of AIG · Chubb · DB · Hyundai · KB · Meritz to propose the cover and price best suited to your risk. Each insurer's full wording is provided at application and binding.
Doctor / hospital liability insurance (medical malpractice) covers the legal liability and defence costs where a medical professional’s diagnosis, treatment, surgery, prescribing or nursing causes bodily harm to a patient through negligence during care. It is designed with rates differentiated by scale — clinics, dental and oriental-medicine clinics, hospitals and general hospitals.
High-risk specialties such as plastic surgery, general surgery, obstetrics and anaesthesia are rated separately; low-risk specialties are designed with discounts.
Defence costs for early response before the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency or in civil litigation are advanced.
Medical corporations and network hospitals can improve premium efficiency through group design.
High-risk procedures such as delivery, anaesthesia, contrast media and transfusion can be added by endorsement.
Primary-care institutions run as sole proprietorships or medical corporations.
Including specialty hospitals of 100+ beds and tertiary general hospitals.
Cover is available on an individual-insured basis.
| Policy period | 1 year (Claims-Made or Occurrence basis) |
|---|---|
| Payment | Single (annual) or instalment payment |
| Insurers | Chubb · DB · KB · Meritz · Hyundai |
| Channel | Individual consultation with our broker (010-5755-6465) |
| Turnaround | 3–5 business days |
If the insured event has already occurred at the time the contract is made, the contract is void. However, where the contract is void due to the company's intent or negligence, or where the company knew or could have known of the nullity before acceptance yet did not refund the premium, the company refunds the premium with interest at the policy-loan rate published by the Korea Insurance Development Institute, compounded annually, for the period from the day after payment to the day of refund.
The specific losses not covered (exclusions) are set out in each insurer's policy wording and product description; on this page, see the “Cover” tab(or the “Losses not covered” section) for the main exclusions. For other cover-specific grounds on which claims are not paid, please refer to the policy wording.
The company provides cover, in accordance with the policy, from the time it accepts the application and receives the first premium. Where the company accepts the application after receiving the first premium with it, cover also begins from the time the first premium was received.
The application must be completed by the policyholder, and the policyholder and the insured must sign it by hand. Failure to sign by hand may result in disadvantages regarding the validity of the contract. On an internet cyber-mall, an electronic signature may be used instead.
The policyholder has the right to be given and have explained the information needed about the product they wish to buy.
The insurer and N2N Insurance Brokerage must explain the important matters of the product to ordinary financial consumers.
When applying, the policyholder, the insured or their agent must disclose truthfully the facts they know regarding the questions in the application (including the questionnaire). Otherwise the claim may be declined or the contract cancelled. Where insurance is taken out by telephone or other means of communication, the duty is performed by answering the seller's questions, which are recorded, without a separate written questionnaire, so answers must be given with particular care.
If, after the contract is made, any of the following arises in respect of the subject-matter insured, the policyholder or the insured must notify the company in writing without delay and obtain endorsement on the policy.
The surrender value is the amount paid if the contract is cancelled early. Unlike bank savings, insurance combines risk protection and savings: part of the premium is paid out as claims to other policyholders who suffer accidents, and part covers the insurer's operating expenses, so the surrender value on early cancellation may be less than the premiums paid, or nil.
Under Article 59-4(1) of the Income Tax Act (special tax credit), for protection-type insurance taken out by an employee only, a tax credit of 12% of the premium paid (capped at KRW 1 million per year) is available. Tax matters may change with amendment or repeal of the relevant tax law.
Except as provided by law, the insurer and N2N Insurance Brokerage do not collect, use, inspect or provide personal data related to this contract — for its conclusion, maintenance and claim payment — without the consent of the policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary. However, for those purposes the insurer may, with the consent of the policyholder and the insured and in accordance with law, provide personal data to other insurers and insurance-related bodies.
The above is a summary and excerpt of the policy wording; for grounds on which claims are not paid and other details, please refer to the policy wording and product description.
Common risk patterns in clinical practice — a five-scenario self-check
Negligence during diagnosis, treatment, surgery, prescribing or nursing can lead to a patient’s injury or death and create large liability.
High-risk specialties have higher incident frequency and severity, so cover must be designed to the specialty’s characteristics.
The more medical staff, the greater the volume of care and dispute exposure. Medical corporations and network hospitals should consider group design.
Individual doctors can also bear liability for negligent care, so cover is available on an individual-insured basis.
High-risk procedures such as delivery, anaesthesia, contrast media and transfusion need to be considered for extension by endorsement beyond the base cover.
After a medical incident the institution sees an “unavoidable complication,” while the patient sees “negligence by the medical staff.” Because medical care inherently carries uncertainty, the core of medical liability is not whether the outcome was bad but whether the staff met the duty of care expected at the medical standard of the time. Disputes proceed to mediation at the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency or to civil litigation, and the process itself incurs considerable defence costs. Doctor / hospital liability insurance covers the damages for injury or death caused to a patient by negligent care, together with the defence costs for early response to a dispute.
Source: (standard insurance-textbook scenario)
The wording and structure points decision-makers most often overlook
High-risk specialties such as plastic surgery, general surgery, obstetrics and anaesthesia differ from low-risk ones in incident pattern and underwriting. Every specialty actually performed must be reflected in the cover.
High-risk procedures such as delivery, anaesthesia, contrast media and transfusion can leave gaps under base cover alone. Check whether the extension endorsements matching your procedures are included.
The liability structure of a hospital and its salaried or public-health doctors differs. In group design for medical corporations and network hospitals, check which doctors are included as insureds.
Article 6 of the Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Healthcare and Attraction of Foreign Patients — medical-malpractice liability insurance is a registration requirement
Registration requires at least one specialist per specialty and enrolment in medical-malpractice liability insurance (or a medical-liability mutual aid association). A certificate of cover is submitted with the registration application.
KRW 100 million for clinics and midwifery clinics, KRW 100 million for hospitals, and KRW 200 million or more for general hospitals. A higher limit can be considered depending on scope of care and the share of foreign patients.
Foreign patients must be within the cover. If the “foreign-patient exclusion endorsement” on the application is selected, the registration requirement is not met, so take care.
A dermatology clinic in Seoul (one specialist, one general practitioner; laser and filler procedures) preparing to register for foreign-patient care designed an annual limit of KRW 100 million or more at the clinic level and included foreign patients in the cover (the exclusion endorsement was not selected). The scope of procedures was stated accurately on the application against the risk-classification codes, and the certificate of cover was submitted with the registration documents. Loss relating to the “outcome” of cosmetic procedures is excluded under standard wording, but bodily harm caused by negligence is covered. Registration is valid for three years and must be renewed before expiry. The premium and terms are confirmed after the insurer’s underwriting, and our commission is borne by the insurer, with no additional cost to the policyholder (Article 98 of the Insurance Business Act).
Source: (General industry example)
The questions asked most when considering doctor / hospital liability insurance
It covers damages for a patient’s injury, death or permanent disability caused by negligence in diagnosis, treatment, surgery, prescribing or nursing (medical costs, lost earnings, consolation money, etc.), together with defence costs for mediation at the Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency and for litigation.
Because medical care inherently carries uncertainty, a bad outcome alone does not establish liability. The test is whether the staff met the duty of care expected at the medical standard of the time, and loss where negligence is found is what is covered.
High-risk specialties such as plastic surgery, general surgery, obstetrics and anaesthesia differ from low-risk ones in risk and underwriting. Every specialty actually performed must be reflected in the cover.
High-risk procedures such as delivery, anaesthesia, contrast media and transfusion are generally handled by extension endorsements beyond the base cover. Check whether the endorsements matching your procedures are included.
Medical corporations and network hospitals can be designed as a group, and salaried or public-health doctors can also be covered on an individual-insured basis. Check which doctors are included as insureds.
The insurer calculates it based on specialty and procedure risk, institution size and number of staff, the limit and endorsement structure, and past dispute history. The exact premium and terms are confirmed after underwriting by insurers such as AIG, Chubb, DB, Hyundai, KB and Meritz.
