Understand what shapes pricing across specialties, states, and market cycles.
Put the renewal number in context before accepting it.
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Review the premium alongside policy terms, carrier fit, claims support, and the practical path for changing coverage.
Explore this serviceCost and premiums
These guides explain specialty and state differences, market conditions, repeated increases, and the factors carriers may use when setting malpractice premiums.
Most malpractice premium increases come from book-level severity and reinsurance, not from a claim on your own file. Venue, roster growth, specialty class, and loss history can add a file-specific layer on top of the market cycle.
A mature claims-made $1M/$3M medical malpractice policy usually costs about $5,000 to $250,000 or more per physician per year. Specialty and county explain most of the range.
Two physicians. Same city. Same carrier. Same broker. One pays $18,000 a year for malpractice insurance. The other pays $95,000. The difference? Specialty. But that number is not as fixed as most physicians believe.
You open your renewal notice. The premium is up 12%. Not 3%. Not 5%. Twelve percent. Your broker says it is "the market." But what does that actually mean? And is there anything you can do about it?
Dr. Patel and Dr. Singh trained together. Same specialty. Same city. Same patient volume. Dr. Patel joined a hospital system. Dr. Singh stayed independent. Dr. Singh pays 35% more for malpractice insurance. Here is why that gap exists -- and how independent practices can fight back.
Dr. Patel opens her renewal notice. Same coverage. Same carrier. But the premium is 7% higher than last year. It is the third year in a row. She sighs, signs it, and moves on. If that sounds familiar, you are not alone -- and you are not powerless.
If you are an independent physician practicing in Pennsylvania, you already know: malpractice insurance costs here are brutal. What you might not know is exactly why -- or that there are concrete steps you can take to reduce the hit.
A clearer next step
A free coverage review connects what you have read to the policy, practice, and renewal in front of you.
Sheltra learns how your group is structured, what has changed, and where your current renewal needs a closer look.
Your coverage is taken to market so multiple insurers can compete for your practice rather than relying on one renewal option.
See the tradeoffs, understand the switching path, and move forward with support for the details that follow.