Florida’s 2007 Medical Malpractice Report Shows Positive Trends For The Industry

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has released its annual report on the state’s medical malpractice insurance market, detailed in the press release issued below.

To read news coverage on the report, click here.

Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

 

Florida’s 2007 Medical Malpractice Report Shows Positive Trends For The Industry
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (09/28/2007) – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“Office”) today released its 2007 annual report on the medical malpractice insurance market in Florida. Pursuant to Florida law, the Office is required to annually issue a summary and analysis of the state of the medical malpractice insurance industry.

The report showed a continuing trend of recovery for the medical malpractice industry that experienced double-digit rate increases and lack of availability prior to the 2003 legislative reforms. In fact, the report showed a net decline in medical malpractice rates for the primary market, which includes physicians and surgeons.  The net decrease of rates in Florida was 3.06 percent for 2006.

“The Florida Legislature has been vigilant in its oversight efforts to control the costs in the medical malpractice insurance industry,” remarked Commissioner Kevin McCarty. “This report shows that the Florida Legislature’s efforts to control these costs have been effective.”

The annual report compared Florida’s medical malpractice industry financial data to data from the five most populous states: California, Illinois, New York, Texas and Pennsylvania. The report showed that Florida’s loss experience and defense cost and containment expenses are now competitive with states in this peer group.

The report also showed that seven new medical malpractice carriers entered the market in 2006. An analysis of the closed claims data submitted to the Office’s Professional Liability Claims Reporting (PLCR) system reported 900 closed claims in 2006, which paid an estimated $188.8 million; $138.2 million was paid in economic damages and the remainder in non-economic damages.

Following the 2003 reforms, the Office developed a “presumed savings factor” of 7.8 percent. The initial reduction was based on the premise that this factor would be revisited at a future date to determine the full impact of the new legislation. The report indicated that enough historical data has now been accumulated to initiate a further study.

Click here to access the full report.