One in 21 physicians was sued last year, the lowest rate since 1973. The average payment made on behalf of a physician and reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank was $514,000, the highest on record. Both numbers describe the same malpractice market, and the second number is why premiums are not falling.
Medical Economics Managing Editor Todd Shryock sat down with Robert White, president of
White explains why falling claims frequency has quietly absorbed years of pressure from rising severity and why that cushion is running out. He walks through the arithmetic of nuclear verdicts, awards above $10 million that now land somewhere in the country roughly once a week and how a single plaintiff’s verdict resets the settlement value of every comparable case that never reaches a courtroom. He also makes the case that artificial intelligence in diagnosis and treatment is the emerging exposure worth watching, and offers blunt advice on how physicians should be choosing a carrier.
This conversation was recorded in spring 2026. On June 26, The Doctors Company completed a $1.3 billion acquisition of ProAssurance Corporation, creating a combined insurer covering more than 200,000 health care professionals and organizations. The transaction is not discussed in this episode.
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