Doctors Co. to Cut State Physician Premiums

Christina Cole

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A physician owned medical malpractice insurance provider, The Doctors Co., said its board approved a premium dividend to physician members expected to provide close to $7.3 million in premium relief to Golden State physicians.

In total, they are implementing premium dividends that total over $21 million in July, officials said.

The credit will allow for an average premium reduction of 7.5 percent to doctors in California, where the Doctors Co offers professional liability insurance to over 10,000 doctors. Additionally, it will affect premium rates in nine other states as well: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

The Doctors Co. will begin its premium "roll-back" in states where it has the largest members.

Members of national specialty societies that endorse the company will also receive the dividend. They include the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; American Association of Neurological Surgeons; American College of Physicians; American College of Surgeons, and American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which cumulatively represent about 250,000 doctors nationwide.

The company said the dividend is meant to "recognize and reward its physician members for their loyalty and partnership in helping further advance and protect the practice of good medicine."

Dividend payments will appear as a credit against current premiums effective with malpractice-insurance renewals beginning July 1.