According to an article in the People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center website, Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR) has released a study validating the rumor among consumers that rising insurance rates will be put to rest when the insurance investment cycle has stabilized, regardless of the enactment of tort reform laws.
A study performed by AIR in 2002 introduced the idea that insurance industries and doctors have been convinced that patients who file medical malpractice lawsuits drain money from insurers as cases award more and more money to injured consumers. Insurers say the money drain forces them to raise insurance rates, pull out of the market, or limit an injured consumer’s ability to sue in court.
The fact of the matter is that medical malpractice insurance premiums are reacting to a natural economic cycle that has nothing to do with the legal system. As the new study conducted by AIR (Released February 27, 2006) states, the average rate hike for doctors over the past six months has been 0%. We are at the end of a “hard market” and going back into a “soft market”. Due to swings in the economic market such as stock market crashes, interest rates, or even the level of insurers’ investment income there have been peaks of “hard market” times before: once in the mid 1970’s and again in the mid 1980’s. We are now experiencing the soft end of a hard market from 2002.
This is all good news for the consumer, because this new evidence proves that there is no need to rush into quick legislative fixes or limits on patients’ rights. “Caps” instituted by tort reform laws are one of these such limits. Tort reform caps have been dangerous to the consumer in the past, often resulting in insufficient compensation for their losses.
If you have been injured due to medical malpractice and are seeking a personal injury lawyer, look no further than Jacoby and Meyers of San Diego, California.
For more information concerning medical malpractice insurance rates, try reading:
- “Study: Medical Malpractice rates cool, no crisis exists” @ http://www.peopleoverprofits.org
- “Insurance ‘Crisis’ Officially Over – Medical Malpractice Rates Have Been Stable for a Year” Feb. 27, 2006 Report @ http://www.insurance-reform.org
- “Medical Malpractice Insurance: Stable Losses/Unstable Rates” Oct. 10, 2002 Report @ http://www.insurance-reform.org
