Why therapists need liability insurance
The core risk in therapy is board complaints, breaches of confidentiality, boundary disputes, and allegations of misconduct — not physical injury. Specialty carriers build coverage around exactly these exposures. CPH & Associates, for example, includes State Licensing Board Defense of $35,000 and unlimited defense attorney fees in lawsuit defense, plus assault and first-aid coverage.
- Private practitioners are the first party liable and should carry their own policy.
- Proliability's mental-health plan includes a HIPAA sublimit of $50,000 and a sexual abuse/molestation sublimit of $25,000.
- Sexual misconduct coverage is typically defense-cost only — check each policy's terms.
Occurrence vs claims-made (therapists)
Mental-health specialty carriers mostly offer occurrence ("lifetime") coverage — CPH markets its professional liability as an occurrence form, and Proliability and CM&F offer occurrence as well. This matters for therapists because a client may file a complaint years after therapy ends; occurrence keeps that year's care covered without buying tail coverage.
Berxi offers both occurrence and claims-made, and its defense costs sit outside your limits — so a $1M limit stays fully available for settlements. If you hold a claims-made policy, confirm the tail cost before you leave.