The Doctors Company to Reduce Malpractice Premiums in Texas by 18%

California-based medical malpractice insurance provider, The Doctors Company, reported that premiums for new and renewing policyholders in Texas will drop by an average of 18 percent beginning April 1, 2006, for new policyholders and July 1, 2006, for those renewing coverage.

“The Doctors Company has been protecting Texas physicians since 1990. We are committed to Texas and to providing doctors throughout the state with superior medical malpractice insurance,” said Richard E. Anderson, M.D., F.A.C.P., chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company. “We congratulate Texas voters for passing reforms which improved the medical malpractice environment and we look forward to welcoming a greater number of Texas physicians to our national membership of 25,000.”

In 2003, Texas passed Proposition 12, a landmark tort reform law capping pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice cases. Proposition 12 stabilized the Texas medical malpractice marketplace and benefited physicians and patients. It has also encouraged doctors to return to medically underserved areas, to replace those who left in the era of uncontrollable and unlimited liability.

“Texas physicians will welcome lower premiums, and this is the latest proof that the reforms passed by voters and the Legislature are working,” said Dr. Howard Marcus, chairman of the Texas Alliance for Patient Access. “Medical liability reform has resulted in a broader scope of insurance options for doctors. Texas has seen a statewide gain of 81 obstetricians, 93 orthopedic surgeons, and 263 emergency medicine specialists since Proposition 12 passed two years ago.”

Texas physicians will see premium reductions ranging from 10 to 45.8 percent depending upon location of practice, area of specialty, and coverage limits. This is the second rate decrease announced within the past year by The Doctors Company, which has also introduced a generous multi-year dividend program for Texas members.

The Doctors Company reduced rates by an average of 14 percent in early 2005; combined with the latest decrease, the company’s policyholders in Texas have seen premiums drop by an average of nearly one-third since the passage of Proposition 12. The company noted that its decrease includes significant premium reductions for critical specialties traditionally excluded from insurers’ rate reductions including obstetrics and gynecology and neurosurgery.

Source: The Doctors Company

Topics Texas Pricing Trends