(a) The director of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring all licensed medical and dental professional and all licensed healthcare providers to be covered by professional liability insurance insuring the practitioner for claims of bodily injury or death arising out of malpractice, professional error, or mistake. The director of the department of business regulation is hereby authorized to promulgate regulations establishing the minimum insurance coverage limits that shall be required; provided, however, that such limits shall not be less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for claims arising out of the same professional service and three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in the aggregate. The director of the department of business regulation is further authorized to establish rules and regulations allowing persons or entities with sufficient financial resources to be self-insurers.
(b) Every licensed healthcare provider in direct patient care within a licensed hospital shall obtain liability insurance in a minimum amount determined by the board of trustees of that hospital.