Professional Liability Insurance Program Update

Dear ADA&C Members,

As you may know, CDSPI recently withdrew its request for an urgent injunction to prevent the ADA&C’s Professional Liability Insurance Program (PLIP) from going ahead. The PLIP will go into effect on January 1, 2022, and all members are required to purchase basic coverage under the PLIP at the same time as you pay your ADA&C registration fees. Members can also elect to purchase additional coverage directly through Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers.
 
The ADA&C is disappointed, but not surprised, that CDSPI attempted to prevent the PLIP from proceeding, because that is consistent with CDSPI’s commercial interests.
 
We are confident that any new legal application commenced by CDSPI will be dismissed by the courts. The ADA&C’s mandate is to regulate dental professionals in the public interest, and the PLIP is consistent with that mandate. The ADA&C, and its actuaries, strongly believe that the made-in-Alberta PLIP provides effective base insurance coverage to members at an affordable price. 
 
The ADA&C is aware that CDSPI has continued to criticize the PLIP for including a shared aggregate limit of $25 million, claiming that it puts dentists and the public at risk. At the same time CDSPI steadfastly refuses to provide access to its own historical aggregate claims data from Alberta.
 
Members interested in insurance coverage issues are encouraged to ask CDSPI directly for Alberta claims information, since they have refused to provide it to the ADA&C, a member organization.
 
The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (“RCDSO”) has operated its own professional liability insurance program since the 1970s. The RCDSO’s professional liability insurance program includes a program aggregate limit of $30 million per year for their 11,000 members. This is 4x the number of registered members in Alberta. To reiterate, RCDSO has $30 million in coverage for 11,000 members, compared to ADA&C’s $25 million for 2,900 members.  
 
The RCDSO has never come close to breaching their $30 million aggregate limit. In fact, RCDSO’s experience shows that aggregate claims averaged $4.8 million per year over the last 20 years, despite insuring almost 4x more regulated members than the ADA&C. 
 
The PLIP also includes an option which will allow the ADA&C to increase the shared aggregate limit by an additional $25 million in the unlikely event that claims approach the aggregate limit within a policy year, providing further assurance that the program aggregate limit will be sufficient to cover claims.
 
The ADA&C program provides each member with a base limit of $2 million per loss ($4 million personal aggregate) which is arranged by Victor Insurance Managers Inc. through ‘A’ rated insurers.
 
The first $2 million from any claim comes out of the $25 million program aggregate. For example, a $10 million claim would only deplete this fund by $2 million and the remaining $8 million would be paid by an individual’s excess coverage. To reinforce, this scenario would still leave $23 million in the shared program aggregate. 
 
If you feel you need more than the $2 million base liability Insurance you are encouraged to purchase excess coverage through Lloyd Sadd, which is available online. The additional insurance, from $2 million to $10 million has no program aggregate. An additional $15 million in excess coverage is also available to bring your coverage up to $25 million.
 
Next week, we expect to be able to announce that additional excess coverage from $25 million to $50 million will be available. This is a demonstration of the ADA&Cs ability to communicate directly with the insurers and design a product that protects both the people of Alberta and our members.
 
The Health Professions Act empowers the ADA&C Council to act as the governing body of the ADA&C. The ADA&C Council made the decision to create the Professional Liability Insurance Program. The ADA&C Council is comprised of Alberta general dentists, specialists, and public members, all of whom have legal duties and are responsible for the regulation of dentists and the protection of Albertans.