N.Y. MED-MAL RATES UP 7%:

New York Superintendent of Insurance Gregory V. Serio announced that the majority of New York State’s 50,000 physicians will see a 7 percent rate increase in their medical malpractice insurance premiums for the policy year beginning July 1. Serio rejected recommendations from insurers that rates be increased as high as 25.7 percent. “Considering that health care costs are impacted by medical malpractice rates, our efforts to stabilize rates are going a long way to control health care expenses for New Yorkers,” Serio commented. For the new policy year, the department has established a 7 percent increase for all insurers other than the Medical Malpractice Insurance Plan (MMIP). MMIP, which covers approximately 500 physicians unable to obtain insurance coverage from other carriers, will receive a rate increase of 20 percent. The major medical malpractice insurers doing business in New York, and their approximate market share are: Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company (53 percent), Physicians Reciprocal Insurers (30 percent), HANYS Insurance Company (4 percent) and Academic Health Professionals (4 percent). Legislation was enacted in 1986 giving the superintendent the authority to establish stabilized malpractice rates for doctors in order to moderate medical malpractice rate increases. The average medical malpractice rate changes for physicians during the past five years have included an 8.5 percent increase in 2003 and no increase in 1999. In addition, the department will soon set rates for the excess medical malpractice coverage.