Why Minnesota Physicians choose My Medical Malpractice Insurance:
- You’ll receive Medical Malpractice Insurance quotes from the top Medical Malpractice Insurance Company in Minnesota.
- You’ll be assured of all the physician discounts available: Risk Management, Claims-free and New to Practice.
- You won’t have to purchase separate tail coverage, because your Prior Acts Coverage will be already included in your policy.
- Our veteran liability specialists will fully customize your policy to fit your specific needs.
- You’ll have access to our free Practice Tools: our Online Patient Satisfaction Survey System, our on-staff Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager (CPHRM) and many others to help you take your practice to the next level.
- Together with the Medical Liability Monitor -- the nation's leading independent source of Medical Liability Insurance news as well as the political, legal and risk management issues that affect the healthcare industry – we publish historic rate data for every city in the North Star State. You’ll find the insights into Minnesota’s data trends provided by this information invaluable when making an informed decision on your professional liability carrier and coverage. This is just one reason among many that MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com is the preferred online site for Minnesota physicians, healthcare professionals and medical groups looking for ways to find the best terms and lower their medical malpractice insurance rates.
- Request your free quote for Minnesota Medical Malpractice Insurance today.
Medical Malpractice Insurance in Minnesota
Minnesota boasts some of the most inexpensive medical malpractice insurance rates in the nation. For comparison, a general practitioner in Minneapolis pays, on average, about one-tenth of the base rate premium an identical GP would pay in New York City, and a general surgeon in St. Paul pays about one-fifteenth of the base rate premium an identical surgeon would pay in Dade County, Fla.
While the medical malpractice insurance rates are consistently among the most affordable in the nation, they are still a major cost of doing business for any Minnesota medical practice. When the state’s medical malpractice insurance rates rise and fall with the natural cycles of the medical liability insurance market or experience a spike due to intermittent nationwide liability crises, there is a very real effect on a practice’s profitability. As such, organizations like the Minnesota Medical Association do lobby their state legislature for tort reforms intended to depress claims frequency and create an even more stable medical liability climate.
Since the first malpractice crisis gripped the United States in the mid-1970s, every state legislature nationwide has enacted laws intended to reduce or slow escalating medical malpractice insurance premiums. These tort stipulations range from caps on non-economic and punitive damages to certificate of merit requirements and narrow statutes of limitations. Because medical malpractice insurance premiums are dictated to a large extent by the frequency and resolution costs of medical malpractice claims in a given region, each of these legislative maneuvers is intended to either limit the number of claims filed, the size of awards and settlements or the time and expense associated with resolving claims.
Since California’s passage of the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975, which limited pain-and-suffering awards in medical malpractice cases to $250,000, non-economic damage caps have been viewed as the gold standard of tort reforms. In fact, at least 34 other states have passed similar legislation capping non-economic damages in the past 35 years. Proponents of non-economic damage caps argue that they provide actuarial predictability, allowing medical malpractice insurers to better predict annual losses and reduce premiums that were kept high in anticipation of large-dollar jury verdicts. While Minnesota boasts the nation’s most inexpensive medical malpractice insurance rates and has experienced the mildest premium increases during the past several decades, the state does not impose a non-economic damage cap in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Instead of a damage cap, many point to legislation that passed in 1986 as the reason for Minnesota’s malpractice stability. Statutes section 145.682 was explicitly enacted in an effort to remedy rising costs of medical insurance by reducing frivolous healthcare lawsuits. It requires an affidavit of merit from an expert demonstrating that the expert believes that the plaintiff has a valid claim. Another affidavit listing expert witnesses must be served upon the defendant within 180 days after commencement of the suit. The Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the precedent of case dismissal if a plaintiff fails to obtain sufficient certification of expert review, and this legislation has had a notable effect on the expense of defending against frivolous lawsuits. There are impressive statistics supporting Minnesota’s approach to stabilizing its medical liability climate. Between 1999 and 2002, the state’s largest medical professional liability insurance company raised rates for general surgeons by 2 percent, compared to a 75-percent increase in Florida and a 130-percent increase in Pennsylvania.
Minnesota has also encouraged new medical malpractice insurance companies to enter its market and increase competition to drive down premium costs. In 2001, the state’s department of commerce implemented a “speed-to-market” filing procedure for insurance companies that meet certain requirements. These requirements detail the uniform standards and consumer protections necessary to get policies approved by the state and speeds new companies’ entrance into the market.
When trying to determine why Minnesota has such a stable medical malpractice insurance climate, its necessary to consider the state’s social demographics. Many observers of the state’s legal system attribute the low frequency of medical malpractice claims to a population simply adverse to civil lawsuits. Could it be that Minnesotans embrace a less adversarial approach to dispute resolution than most other Americans?
Yes, medical malpractice insurance rates in Minnesota are among the most inexpensive in the nation. That does not mean a physician should not worry about getting the best insurance coverage at the best available rate. With reimbursement rates dropping and other business expenses rising, today’s physician needs to reduce expenses where possible in order to maintain profitability. This is why it is important to work with an experienced medical malpractice insurance broker. Only an experienced medical malpractice insurance broker with access to all the top insurers will be able to shop your coverage to ensure you are getting the best deal possible.
All Medical Liability Monitor rate data is protected under United States Copyright Law. The rate data may not be reproduced in whole or part without permission. Contact the editor at Medical Liability Monitor for more information.
MINNESOTA
Physician Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
| 2000 |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,028 0% |
$8,717 0% |
$18,439 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,522 - 5.9% |
$9,391 - 5.9% |
$16,141 - 5.9% |
| 2001 |  |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,028 0% |
$8,717 0% |
$18,439 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,522 0% |
$9,391 0% |
$16,141 0% |
| 2002 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,028 0% |
$8,717 0% |
$18,439 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,897 + 0.3% |
$17,758 + 0.3% |
$27,994 + 0.3% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,803 + 8.0% |
$10,142 + 8.0% |
$17,431 + 8.0% |
| 2003 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,028 0% |
$8,717 0% |
$18,439 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,994 + 5.0% |
$11,983 + 18.0% |
$18,307 + 5.0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 + 25.0% |
$11,306 + 25.0% |
$22,950 + 25.0% |
| 2004 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,283 + 7.2% |
$12,848 + 7.2% |
$19,630 + 7.2% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $8,006 N/A |
$27,749 N/A |
$34,158 N/A |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
| 2005 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,286 0% |
$12,857 0% |
$19,643 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $8,961 + 11.9% |
$31,056 + 11.9% |
$38,231 + 11.9% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
| 2006 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,286 0% |
$12,657 - 1.6% |
$19,643 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $8,961 0% |
$31,056 0% |
$38,231 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
| 2007 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,500 + 5.0% |
$13,501 + 6.7% |
$20,626 + 5.0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $8,958 0% |
$31,046 0% |
$38,216 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
| 2008 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,500 0% |
$13,501 0% |
$20,626 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $5,106 |
$17,106 |
$17,106 |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
| 2009 | |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,500 0% |
$13,501 0% |
$20,626 0% |
| INTERNAL MEDICINE (% change since last survey) |
GENERAL SURGERY (% change since last survey) |
OB/GYN (% change since last survey) |
|---|---|---|
| $3,375 0% |
$11,306 0% |
$22,950 0% |
To find the most current medical malpractice insurance rates in Minnesota, contact Mike Matray at the Medical Liability Monitor. MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com has negotiated an excellent rate for all of our users, mention our site, and you can receive the Medical Liability Monitor at a low promotional price.
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