Insurance for Occupational Therapists

What underwriters look at

Occupational therapists spend much of their day in direct physical contact with patients, guiding transfers, assisting with mobility exercises, and helping people relearn daily living tasks after injury or illness. That hands-on work creates real injury exposure: a patient who falls during a transfer or is hurt during an exercise can bring a claim against the therapist, even when protocols were followed correctly.

OTs also frequently recommend adaptive equipment, from shower chairs to home modification plans, and a piece of equipment that fails or is used incorrectly can lead to a claim that the recommendation itself was negligent. Because OTs often work across multiple settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, schools, and home health, contract requirements vary by site, and many facilities require specific liability limits and proof of coverage before allowing a contracted therapist onto the floor.

Contract staffing arrangements add another layer of complexity. Therapists placed through staffing agencies at facilities they don't own often assume their agency's coverage protects them fully, but gaps can exist depending on how a claim arises and which entity is named. Carrying an individual professional liability policy provides a layer of protection that isn't dependent on any single staffing relationship or facility's coverage terms.