Common Life Sciences Insurance Mistakes in Florida

As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, Florida’s life science companies will have to ensure their insurance policies can keep up. If they can’t, they’re likely demonstrating one of the common life sciences insurance mistakes in Florida.

Most Frequent Errors in Florida Life Sciences Insurance

You can prevent costly errors and protect yourself by becoming familiar with the common mistakes in Florida life sciences insurance cases, such as the following:

1. Misjudging Risk – It’s not uncommon for businesses in the life sciences industry to underestimate the potential type or level of risk they truly face.
2. Exclusion of Property – The inclusion of property coverage is another common miscue when it comes to insurance in the life sciences industry. Your money is made in your facilities and with your equipment; if they aren’t covered, your company isn’t either.
3. Supply Chain Exposure – Oftentimes, companies in the life science industry depend upon third-party organizations and supply chains across the globe for innovation, advancement, and production. If there is a failure anywhere along the way, detrimental halts in manufacturing, supply interruptions, and issues of non-compliance can take place.

Conquering Complexities: Life Sciences Insurance Laws and Solutions

Florida’s life sciences industry faces a diverse, ever-changing set of obstacles, from fragile supply chains and relentless technological evolution to expensive liability and regulatory roadblocks.

The complexity of these issues lies in the fact that the landscape can shift in an instant. A minor hiccup one day can blossom into a significant issue the next. That is why life science companies in Florida need to be protected.

Florida’s life sciences industry faces intricate risks that require specific, tailored insurance policies and solutions. That’s exactly why you need Wilson, Washburn, & Forster Insurance, Inc.

There are 2,300 establishments in pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical development in Florida. Thanks to years of experience, we know how to navigate the complex details of pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology operations. We provide policies designed to grow with your company, while identifying arising issues and sustaining in-depth coverage for ongoing procedures. Some areas of our skillset include:

• Coverage of completed products, coupled with options for professional liability – For anyone in the life sciences industry, it is vital for operations to have professional liability insurance, as it protects professionals such as engineers, consultants, and scientists from claims regarding breaches in professional duty, malpractice, or general negligence.
• Coverage for research risk during clinical trials – It almost goes without saying, but companies overseeing research endeavors that involve human participation need clinical trial insurance.
• Coverage for your research equipment, properties, and casualty – Without question, having thorough protection for valuable assets and materials is crucial for life science companies.
• Insurance for business interruptions, like FDA recertification needs – When your organization is forced to stop production because of failures in inspections, shortages in the supply chain, or regulatory snags, concentrated production interruption coverage can encourage financial dependability during slower downtime.
• Protection from cyber liability to secure your data – With assets like classified patent information and other forms of intellectual property, life science companies can find themselves constantly at risk without an adequate policy. With insurance that covers cyber liability, businesses can bounce back from breaches in data, malware, and ransomware attacks without drastic financial loss.
• Protection for directors, officers, and board members from risks – Every part of an organization is crucial for success, including leadership. They should never feel exposed to risk. Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance protects the decision-makers of a company from claims stemming from missteps in regulatory compliance, mismanagement, or financial breaches.

Why Choose Us?

At Wilson, Washburn, & Forster Insurance, Inc., we have many assets at our disposal—an advanced understanding of FDA regulatory compliance, enhanced capabilities in managing the risks of clinical trials, an extensive knowledge of risks that arise throughout developmental stages, and more. Our risk and insurance consultant applies his knowledge from working with Fortune 500 companies to every insurance strategy he implements for businesses.

FAQs

What Is the Major Problem With Life Sciences Insurance?

Oftentimes, the biggest issue with life sciences insurance stems from the disconnect between what businesses think their policy covers versus what it actually does. Time after time, organizations in the life sciences industry utilize standard commercial policies, which commonly do not consider the specific risks and factors of FDA regulations and approvals, clinical trials, recalling products, challenges surrounding intellectual property, and more.

What Is One Area in Which Errors Are Commonly Made on Life Sciences Insurance Applications?

Generally, a recurring mistake made on life sciences insurance applications is misclassifying research efforts or underreporting them. For instance, identifying part of your organization’s research process as “product development” while failing to mention the inclusion of human clinical trials is an example of egregiously misclassifying research.

This, according to a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, is something that happens quite frequently in the very study mentioned

What Is the Bad Type of Life Sciences Insurance?

In the life sciences industry, insurance can be described as “bad” if the policy is far too generic, broad, or narrow. At face value, a conventional general liability policy sounds effective, but it does not cover disputes over intellectual property, injuries to research participants, or regulatory fines and compliance issues.

In this landscape, bad insurance is any policy that provides an inaccurate feeling of security because it does not acknowledge the real risks faced by your organization.

What Are the Two Factors That Most Affect Life Sciences Insurance Costs?

Nowadays, the two factors that often affect life sciences insurance costs are the size of the company and the stage of development it’s in, or a business’s exposure to risk. A small startup with limited revenue, carrying out initial research for a project, may have lower premiums than a large company that is conducting clinical trials with human participants or manufacturing FDA-grade medical equipment.

There are other factors, too, such as cybersecurity procedures, history of claims, and the global scale of operations.

Contact Wilson, Washburn, & Forster Insurance, Inc., for Your Florida Life Sciences Insurance Needs

From Fort Lauderdale and Miami to Palm Beach, the skilled team at Wilson, Washburn, & Forster Insurance, Inc., is here to make sure those in the life sciences industry are protected. Reach out to us today to discuss your policy.