How much malpractice insurance do insurance panels require to credential a therapist?
Usually $1,000,000 per claim and $1,000,000 aggregate, not $1,000,000/$3,000,000. The payers that publish a figure, including Optum’s behavioral network, Evernorth (Cigna), Magellan and Premera, set $1M/$3M for physicians and $1M/$1M for therapists, counselors and other non-physician clinicians, and most accept the state minimum instead. Aetna and UnitedHealthcare’s medical plan publish no dollar figure. Medicare’s enrollment form does not ask about malpractice insurance at all. Contracts outside the panels, such as regional centers, schools and some Medicaid programs, are where $1M/$3M usually comes from.
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The detail
Optum’s behavioral credentialing plan requires "Professional liability malpractice insurance with liability limits of $1/$3 million for physicians and $1/$1 million for non-physician Clinicians, or in an amount or type as otherwise specified by applicable state law."
United Behavioral Health (Optum), 2026-2027 Credentialing Plan, BH02017-1-26-MAN_03192026
Evernorth asks for "Proof of Professional Liability and General Liability insurance" at "$1 million/$3 million for physicians and psychiatric nurses with prescriptive authority, or $1 million/$1 million for all other providers," with lower recommended minimums in Texas ($200,000/$500,000) and Florida ($100,000/$300,000).
Magellan says "Physicians must carry minimum professional liability insurance coverage of $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate. Required professional liability coverage for all other healthcare professionals is $1 million per occurrence and $1 million aggregate. (Required coverage levels may vary depending on local requirements)."
Premera sets $1,000,000 per incident and $1,000,000 aggregate for physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, master’s level therapists and other non-PCP specialists, against $1,000,000/$3,000,000 for physicians.
Premera Blue Cross, Credentialing Criteria and Standards, form 048782 (04-15-2025)
Aetna’s behavioral health criteria set no dollar figure: the provider "will maintain general and professional liability and other insurance according to state requirements. If there are no specific state requirements, then the amount should be what is typically maintained by providers in your state or region."
Aetna, Provider and facility participation criteria, 8100606-01-01 (5/26)
UnitedHealthcare’s medical credentialing plan requires malpractice insurance "in the minimum amounts required by UnitedHealth Group’s Provider Guidelines" and adds that a participation agreement "may require coverage that exceeds the minimum." The plan itself states no figure.
The Medicare enrollment application for individual practitioners contains no question about malpractice or professional liability insurance.
CMS-855I Medicare enrollment application for physicians and non-physician practitioners (05/23)
CAQH ProView asks for "a Professional Liability Insurance record, or an indication that you are covered by FTCA or are self-insured/do not have insurance," including the per-occurrence and aggregate amounts, and prompts you to upload the face sheet or certificate. It collects the limit; the payer sets it.
Louisiana Medicaid requires a licensed behavior analyst providing ABA to be "covered by professional liability insurance to limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, $3,000,000 aggregate."
On our calls, a solo provider being credentialed with insurance panels asked for $1M/$3M limits including abuse coverage. None of the payer documents above mentions abuse and molestation coverage.
Boring Insurance call records, calls graded Aug 20 to Oct 4, 2026 (clients and carriers unnamed)
What this means for you
- Read the panel’s own number before you buy. If every panel you are joining publishes $1M/$1M for your license type, a $1M/$3M policy is a choice rather than a requirement. Many therapists choose it anyway, because a school or regional center contract later asks for it.
- Cigna’s behavioral network wants general liability too. Evernorth asks for proof of general liability as well as professional liability, and for a clinic it wants a certificate that names the clinic. A professional-only policy will not satisfy that application.
- Match the named insured to the entity you credential. If you bill through a PLLC or a group, the payer may credential the group and ask for coverage that names it. An individual policy covers you, not automatically the company.
- Keep CAQH current. Payers pull your policy dates and limits from your CAQH profile. An expired face sheet there stalls a credentialing file even when the policy itself renewed on time.
Go deeper on any of these
Related questions
- Why does everyone tell me I need $1M/$3M?
Because $1M/$3M is the physician standard and the limit many contracts outside the panels use. Regional centers, school districts and some Medicaid programs ask for it, and Louisiana Medicaid sets it for ABA providers. For commercial panels, the published non-physician figure is $1M/$1M at Optum’s behavioral network, Evernorth, Magellan and Premera.
- Regional center vendor requirements
- Does Medicare require malpractice insurance to enroll?
Not as part of enrollment. The CMS-855I application has no malpractice question. Medicare Advantage plans are run by private insurers, and those plans credential you under their own rules, which usually do ask for coverage.
- Do insurance panels require abuse and molestation coverage?
None of the payer credentialing documents we read on October 4, 2026 mentions it. School districts, regional centers and state contracts are what ask for it, often at $1M/$3M.
- Stand-alone abuse and molestation coverage
- Is claims-made coverage acceptable for credentialing?
The panels we read state limits without requiring an occurrence form, and CAQH records whichever you have. With a claims-made policy, keep the retroactive date unbroken when you switch carriers, and plan for tail coverage if you leave practice.
- Occurrence vs claims-made
- I work in Texas or Florida. Are the limits lower?
At Evernorth, yes: its recommended minimums are $200,000/$500,000 in Texas and $100,000/$300,000 in Florida. Other payers that defer to state law follow the same logic, so check each panel’s own page for your state.
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-10-05. See all guides.