Company to raise medical malpractice rates

Thursday, March 4, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A company that writes medical malpractice insurance for more than 300 physicians in Nevada -- most of them in Las Vegas -- has been authorized to raise its base rate by 15 percent.

State Insurance Commissioner Alice Molasky-Arman said Tuesday that division actuaries determined the request by Physicians Insurance Company of Wisconsin Inc. was justified based on its experience as well as a comparison of rates of their competition.

In addition to the 15 percent, the charge for entity coverage will increase from 5 to 10 percent of the base premium. Entity coverage is used by a physician or a group of doctors who incorporate and want that entity to share in the liability.

Those who have entity coverage will see an increase of 20.5 percent.

A breakdown by the company shows that as of January this year 313 physicians were covered in Clark County and 22 in the rest of Nevada.

The firm said the largest specialty groups covered were 57 doctors in emergency medicine, 37 in internal medicine without surgery and 30 in general-family practice without surgery.

The new rates become effective April 1. The last rate increase for Physicians Insurance Co. was 24.7 percent in January 2003.