New York Medical Malpractice Insurance

With more doctors than any other state, New York is the largest medical malpractice insurance market in the country and unique in its regulatory framework, legal environment, and tort reform. New York, unlike most states, does not place a cap, or limit, on the monetary amount of economic damage payouts in medical malpractice cases. Also, the statute of limitations in New York allows for a patient to file a medical malpractice claim up to two-and-a-half years after any alleged issues occur in most cases.

New York was one of the worst states for lawsuits against doctors in 2018. According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, nearly 14 percent of all medical malpractice payment reports in the country come out of New York. And New York is tied with New Jersey and New Hampshire for the highest malpractice award per capita.

This makes it very important for New York doctors to select a strong, medical malpractice insurance carrier with a proven national history of protecting physicians.

The Doctors Company Protects New York Doctors

The Doctors Company leads the industry on behalf of physicians and is the best choice for affiliated doctors of New York’s leading hospitals. With The Doctors Company, doctors are members, not policyholders—and unlike commercial insurers that reward shareholders, we reward our members. Founded and led by physicians since 1976, The Doctors Company brings its long history in the medical malpractice market to New York doctors—and can offer access to the state’s excess coverage as well.

We are committed to providing you with the best imaginable service, plus unrivaled resources to reduce risk and avoid claims—including 24/7 support.

The Doctors Company is one of the only medical malpractice insurers in New York that is:

• Physician owned.
• National in scope.
• Rated A by A.M. Best Company and Fitch Ratings.*

With more than $6.9 billion in assets and $2.7 billion in member surplus, The Doctors Company has the financial strength to protect our 89,000 members today and for many years to come.

Significant New York Member Benefits

The Doctors Company offers a wide variety of benefits to New York members:

• Claims-free credit of up to 12 percent for eligible members.
• 5 percent credit for members who successfully complete the Section 18 excess risk management program.
• Extensive patient safety tools and resources, including free on-demand and live CME.
• Unsurpassed coverage options, including claims-made and occurrence policies and coverage for both physicians and ancillary healthcare providers.
• Professional and management liability policies for a variety of organizations and healthcare professionals—including medical and long-term care facilities, managed care organizations, and life sciences—through our specialty lines subsidiary, TDC Specialty Underwriters.

Additionally, New York medical groups can also be issued coverage through The Doctors Company Risk Retention Group (RRG).

Eligible New York members of The Doctors Company also participate in the Tribute® Plan, which rewards doctors for their loyalty and their commitment to superior patient care, and the company’s dividend program—which has declared over $470 million to date.

Prominent Membership

One of the most prominent New York members is Melville-based North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA), one of the leading single-specialty anesthesia and perioperative management companies in the United States.

“We are proud to partner with The Doctors Company as we advocate for our New York clinicians and their patients,” said Dale Anderson, MD, managing partner for the New York practice of NAPA. “Our NAPA colleagues in other parts of the nation have already benefited from The Doctors Company’s dedicated support and education—those of us in New York are thrilled to follow this path with them. The Doctors Company’s tireless commitment to the practice of quality, patient-centric medicine is the right focus for all of us as healthcare continues to evolve toward safer care and healthier communities.”

Exclusive Endorsements by Prestigious New York Medical Societies

As The Doctors Company’s presence in New York expanded in 2017 and 2018, two of New York’s most distinguished medical societies selected the company as the exclusively endorsed medical malpractice insurer for their members.

This is strong evidence of The Doctors Company’s ability to fulfill our mission and promote superior patient care. Both societies align with our mission and match our dedication and integrity in serving the medical profession.

Acquisition of Hospitals Insurance Company and FOJP Service Corporation

The Doctors Company has purchased Hospitals Insurance Company (HIC), a New York State admitted and licensed insurance company, and FOJP Service Corporation, which provides third-party comprehensive insurance and risk management advisory services.

HIC provides insurance coverages and services to many of the best-known healthcare organizations in the New York metropolitan area, including Mount Sinai Health System, Montefiore Health System, and Maimonides Medical Center. Founded by these systems more than 35 years ago, HIC/FOJP writes over $180 million in premium and manages $135 million in self-insured premiums, with assets of $1.6 billion and policyholder surplus of over $580 million.

The transaction became effective on July 31, 2019, and was also the inception of Healthcare Risk Advisors (HRA), a new business unit within the TDC Group, which will succeed FOJP and focus on third-party comprehensive insurance and risk management advisory services, including management of the self-insured programs of large healthcare organizations in New York and beyond.

HIC will continue to exist as an admitted New York–domiciled insurer providing coverage for hospitals, physicians affiliated with HIC’s insured hospitals, and long-term care facilities and social services agencies. HIC and FOJP employees will become part of HRA and continue to provide the same outstanding services to HIC, the member hospitals, long-term care facilities, and social services agencies as prior to the transaction. 

*As of December 31, 2018, The Doctors Company’s total admitted assets were $4.5 billion, admitted liabilities $2.5 billion, total reserves $1.7 billion, and policyholder surplus $2 billion.