Malpractice rates

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SPBest

SPBest

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I was wondering if anyone knows what the average dentist pays in malpractice insurace. I realize that it varies from region to region but I'm talking about averages.
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SPBest said:
I was wondering if anyone knows what the average dentist pays in malpractice insurace. I realize that it varies from region to region but I'm talking about averages.
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I'm paying around $1900 per year up in Connecticut for a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy as a general dentist in private practice for 6 years now. My carrier is Fortress Insurance company.(I don't do nitrous or IV sedations in my office)

My wife as a practicing orthodontist for 5 years is paying around $2300 for a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy. She also practices in Connecticut, and uses Fortress Insurance company.

My partner, whose been practing for 13 years, also has a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy via Fortress pays around $2200 a year.

When I/we switched our carriers from The Medical Protective Company (a subsidiary of GE Financial that insures both D.M.D's/D.D.S.'s and M.D.'s/ D.O.'s) to Fortress (they only insure dentists and hence have a much lower risk/annual claims paid out) I/we found that the yearly premiums went DOWN about 25% :D :love:

I just laugh when my sister in-law who is a 1st year OB/GYN resident in Providence, RI talks about malpractice premiums in the $90,000 a year range. I figure that I won't even pay a total of $90,000 for malpractice insurance over my ENTIRE career!
 
DrJeff said:
I'm paying around $1900 per year up in Connecticut for a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy as a general dentist in private practice for 6 years now. My carrier is Fortress Insurance company.(I don't do nitrous or IV sedations in my office)

My wife as a practicing orthodontist for 5 years is paying around $2300 for a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy. She also practices in Connecticut, and uses Fortress Insurance company.

My partner, whose been practing for 13 years, also has a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy via Fortress pays around $2200 a year.

When I/we switched our carriers from The Medical Protective Company (a subsidiary of GE Financial that insures both D.M.D's/D.D.S.'s and M.D.'s/ D.O.'s) to Fortress (they only insure dentists and hence have a much lower risk/annual claims paid out) I/we found that the yearly premiums went DOWN about 25% :D :love:

I just laugh when my sister in-law who is a 1st year OB/GYN resident in Providence, RI talks about malpractice premiums in the $90,000 a year range. I figure that I won't even pay a total of $90,000 for malpractice insurance over my ENTIRE career!
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That makes sense to get lower rates by going with a dental only carrier. Does the use of nitrous have a large impact on rates?
 
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I pay $1896.00 for 1M/3M and nitrous is ok.

I am insured with The Dentists Insurance Company of the California Dental Association and they usually rebate $200-300 per year as a rebate.

So, the total cost is around $1600-$1700.00.
 
SPBest said:
That makes sense to get lower rates by going with a dental only carrier. Does the use of nitrous have a large impact on rates?
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I was quoted that nitrous would result in a 10% premium over and above what I'm currently paying. IV sedation would have been an extra 30% on top of the nitrous rate.

Oh yes, and Full osseous's post about a rebate credit reminded me, that each year if I take about 20 minutes and complete an online CE course about reducing risk, they take 15% off my premium!
 
DrJeff said:
I'm paying around $1900 per year up in Connecticut for a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy as a general dentist in private practice for 6 years now....My wife as a practicing orthodontist for 5 years is paying around $2300 for a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy.
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Why does your wife carry a higher ins coverage than you? Just curious.
 
DDSSlave said:
Why does your wife carry a higher ins coverage than you? Just curious.
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The "specialist" designation theoretically gives her a higher risk exposure if a malpractice issue comes up, therefore it is recommended that specialists carry higher limits. I do know of some general dentists though that also carry a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy. The vast majority of GP's though carry a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy.
 
DrJeff said:
The "specialist" designation theoretically gives her a higher risk exposure if a malpractice issue comes up, therefore it is recommended that specialists carry higher limits. I do know of some general dentists though that also carry a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy. The vast majority of GP's though carry a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy.
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Indiana's nice that way; the only option available to us is 250,000/750,000, but any indemnities beyond that are paid out of a central pool of funds existing specifically for that purpose. As if dental malpractice wasn't cheap enough already, eh? ;)
 
DrJeff said:
The "specialist" designation theoretically gives her a higher risk exposure if a malpractice issue comes up, therefore it is recommended that specialists carry higher limits. I do know of some general dentists though that also carry a 3,000,000/5,000,000 policy. The vast majority of GP's though carry a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy.
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Wow, who said it was impossible to gleam a post of relevant info from sdn. Thanks :thumbup:
 
This is a really basic question but in a 1,000,000/3,000,000


what does the 1,000,000 refer to?
what does the 3,000,000 refer to?


?/?

Thanks!
 
DrTacoElf said:
This is a really basic question but in a 1,000,000/3,000,000


what does the 1,000,000 refer to?
what does the 3,000,000 refer to?


?/?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
The first number is the maximum coverage you have for a single claim, and the second is the maximum benefit you can accrue in a year. E.g., with a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy, the insurance company would pick up the tab for three $1,000,000 malpractice settlements/verdicts, or six $500,000, etc.

Of course, if that happens, good luck getting your policy renewed. ;)
 
Anyone have a general idea what oral surgeons pay for malpractice?
 
aphistis said:
The first number is the maximum coverage you have for a single claim, and the second is the maximum benefit you can accrue in a year. E.g., with a 1,000,000/3,000,000 policy, the insurance company would pick up the tab for three $1,000,000 malpractice settlements/verdicts, or six $500,000, etc.

Of course, if that happens, good luck getting your policy renewed. ;)
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My bother in law is a malpractice lawyer (AZ). He says that 90% of the cases he defends are M.D.'s. In his dentist cases, the dentist almost always wins. The precedent for payouts when the dentist loses is something like 25k to 50k and that he hasn't ever seen anything bigger then about 75K. He also mentioned that almost without exception, that most people sue not so much because the dentist screwed up but because the patient dislikes or is unhappy with their treatment by the dentist or the dentists office staff. So be nice to your patients.
 
QCkid said:
My bother in law is a malpractice lawyer (AZ). He says that 90% of the cases he defends are M.D.'s. In his dentist cases, the dentist almost always wins. The precedent for payouts when the dentist loses is something like 25k to 50k and that he hasn't ever seen anything bigger then about 75K. He also mentioned that almost without exception, that most people sue not so much because the dentist screwed up but because the patient dislikes or is unhappy with their treatment by the dentist or the dentists office staff. So be nice to your patients.
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also,remember that the 'brother in law' is only one person. I think this is totally incorrect info. most would settle for less than 50k anyway.
 
QCkid said:
My bother in law is a malpractice lawyer (AZ). He says that 90% of the cases he defends are M.D.'s. In his dentist cases, the dentist almost always wins. The precedent for payouts when the dentist loses is something like 25k to 50k and that he hasn't ever seen anything bigger then about 75K. He also mentioned that almost without exception, that most people sue not so much because the dentist screwed up but because the patient dislikes or is unhappy with their treatment by the dentist or the dentists office staff. So be nice to your patients.
Click to expand...


Even most medical malpractice suits are brought up because the patient or the family is unhappy with the doctor/hospital and feels that they were treated poorly. Granted there are also the cases where they did the sex change on the wrong patient but this is much less frequent. Common curtesy and treating your patients like people really will help to keep yourself out of the courtroom. Also I don't see many jurys offering up millions because you lost the wrong tooth, arm yes but not tooth.
 
anyone know if there is a way to compare regional rates?
 
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