Idaho Medical Malpractice Insurance

• Limits of Liability: $1 million/$3 million
• Major Malpractice Insurers:
  • Medical Ins. Exchange of CA
  • The Doctors Company
  • Continental Casualty Co.
  • Medical Protective Co.
  • Lexington Insurance Co.
• Cost of Medical Malpractice Insurance: Low

Idaho has some of the lowest medical malpractice rates in the country, likely due to the state’s tort system. According to the Institute for Legal Reform’s 2015 report, Ranking the States: A Survey of the Fairness and Reasonableness of State Liability Systems, Idaho ranked sixth overall. The Institute for Legal Reform is an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and compiles their rankings based on a variety of factors, including having and enforcing meaningful venue requirements, damages, timeliness of judgment or dismissal, competence and impartiality of judges and fairness of juries.

Tort reform measures have restructured many aspects of Idaho’s medical liability system. Reforms include a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages for all personal injury and wrongful death cases, including medical malpractice suits. The cap is set to vary with inflation, based on the Idaho Industrial Commission’s adjustment of the “annual living wage.” There is no cap on total damages, and the noneconomic cap does not apply to willful or reckless conduct or to felonious acts. Other reforms in the Gem State include joint liability reform and use of collateral source when determining awards.

• Damage Caps? Yes, noneconomic damages are capped at $250,000, with the cap adjusted annually based on average state wages. There is no cap on total damages.
• Patient Compensation Fund? No
• Apology Law? Yes, oral and written statements and affirmations, as well as gestures and conduct expressing apology, sympathy, commiseration, condolence, compassion or a general sense of benevolence can be made to patients, and/or their friends and family, exclusive of any explanations or statements of fault.
• Collateral Source Reform? Yes, collateral sources are submitted following a verdict, and judgments can only be entered for amounts that exceed the monies recovered from collateral sources.
• Periodic Payments? Yes, for personal injury cases with damages exceeding $100,000, periodic payments can be instituted at either party’s request and upon the discretion of the court. Periodic payments cannot be ordered for intentional torts, gross negligence or extreme deviation from a reasonable standard of conduct.
• Joint Liability Reform? Yes, defendants are proportionally responsible for their share of negligence, unless co-defendants were acting in concert or the defendant was an agent or servant of another party.
• Limits on Plaintiff Attorney’s Fees? No

Overview

Medical malpractice premiums in Idaho are low, with physicians paying much less than in most other states. Obstetricians in Idaho should be able to acquire a policy for well under $50,000 per year in premium, and premiums for general practitioners are among the lowest in the country.

Get Historic Rates

By combining our efforts with those of the Medical Liability Monitor – the nation’s leading independent source of Medical Liability Insurance news, as well as the political, legal and risk management issues that affect the healthcare industry – we’ve published historic rate data for every county in the Gem State. You can view all the rates by completing the three simple steps on the left of this page. You’ll find the insights offered by this information invaluable when making your decision on your medical malpractice insurance coverage and carriers. This is only one of the many reasons that Cunningham Group Insurance has become the preferred online source for Idaho physicians, healthcare professionals and medical groups looking to find the best coverage and lower their medical malpractice insurance rates.

Coverage by Idaho County

Rates are the same across Idaho’s 44 counties. Much of the state is rural, but even more populous areas like Ada County, which includes Boise, enjoy the same low rates as the rest of the state.

Idaho Medical Association
Idaho Department of Insurance
State of Idaho Board of Medicine
Northwest Osteopathic Medical Foundation
All MD Idaho Healthcare Defense Attorney Listing