South Carolina Medical Malpractice Insurance

• Most Common Limits of Liability: $1 million/$3 million
• Major Malpractice Insurers:
  • MAG Mutual Insurance Co.
  • Medical Protective Co.
  • The Doctors Company
  • Continental Insurance Co.
  • ProAssurance Indemnity Co.
• Cost of Medical Malpractice Insurance: Moderate
• Pending State Legislation in 2021 that could affect your rates?: No

Medical malpractice rates in South Carolina are moderate compared with many other states. This is due both to the large number of carriers in the state and to the many tort reforms that South Carolina has passed over the years. South Carolina began reforming its medical liability system in the 1976, with the creation of the South Carolina Medical Malpractice Patient Compensation Fund. The PCF charges an annual “membership fee” and requires a physician to carry minimum coverage of $200,000 per claim and $600,000 annual aggregate of all claims. Any verdict in excess of the underlying, primary coverage is paid by the PCF. In effect, the PCF pools and minimizes its members’ risk of a jackpot verdict, keeping their insurance premiums to a minimum. South Carolina also has a Joint Underwriting Association (JUA). JUAs help keep premiums in check by providing insurance to physicians who are unable to obtain affordable insurance in the marketplace.

In 2019, the South Carolina Legislature passed House Bill H 3760, which merges the South Carolina Patient Compensation Fund (PCF) with the South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) into a new organization to be called The South Carolina Medical Malpractice Association (SCMMA). Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the PCF merged into the South Carolina Medical Malpractice Association. The SCMMA will assume all obligations and responsibilities of the PCF, while retaining all obligations and responsibilities of the JUA. On Jan. 1, 2020, the PCF Board, with oversight of the Department of Insurance, provided for the orderly and expeditious winding down of the PCF. All outstanding affairs and existing contractual obligations of the PCF became the responsibility of the SCMMA on Jan. 1, 2020. After January 1, 2020, the PCF ceased to exist except as for purposes of winding down its affairs.

In addition to its Patient Compensation Fund, the Palmetto State has implemented many tort reforms. In 2004, then-Governor Mark Sanford made a legislative push to address ongoing liability issues in the state. The result was the South Carolina Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety Reform Act, which was passed in 2005. This act addressed both general tort reform and specific reforms to the medical liability system. General tort reforms included joint and several liability reform; venue reform; reforms to the Statute of Repose (similar to a statute of limitations, but with more restrictions); and introduction of measures to sanction lawyers and other parties filing frivolous claims. Medical liability-specific reforms included a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases ($1.05 million for multi-defendant lawsuits); required plaintiffs to file a notice of intent to sue, and for both parties to participate in mandatory mediation (a claim can still be filed if a resolution cannot be reached in mediation); required that any expert testimony that is delivered in “bad faith” be reported to professional licensing agencies; and protected emergency room physicians from liability for medical malpractice unless there is evidence that the doctor acted in a manner that was grossly negligent. The bill offers similar protections to obstetricians when providing emergency care unless the doctor acted in a manner that was grossly negligent.

• Damage Caps? Yes, noneconomic damages are capped at $350,000. The cap increases to $1.05 million in cases with multiple defendants.
• Patient Compensation Fund? No, see above under “The South Carolina Malpractice Landscape”.
• Apology Law? Yes, conduct, statements, or activity consisting of voluntary offers of assistance or expressions of benevolence, regret, mistake, error, sympathy, or apology can be made to a patient, relative of the patient or the patient’s legal representative, in the event of any unanticipated outcome resulting from the patient’s medical care.
• Collateral Source Reform? No
• Periodic Payments? No
• Joint Liability Reform? Yes, defendants who are less than 50 percent at fault are only liable for their proportion of negligence; those who are 50 percent or greater at fault can be held fully liable.
• Limits on Plaintiff Attorney’s Fees? No

Overview

Medical malpractice rates in South Carolina are moderate. Many physicians in South Carolina pay about a quarter what they would pay in surrounding states – even specialists. The market has many carriers, and tort reforms have helped keep the climate stable.

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 Palmetto 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 South Carolina physicians, healthcare professionals and medical groups looking to find the best coverage and lower their medical malpractice insurance rates.

Coverage by South Carolina County

Rates are the same in all 46 South Carolina counties. Whether a physician is practicing in a more populous area like Greenville County or Charleston County, or in McCormick County (population only 10,233) he or she will enjoy the same low rates.

South Carolina Medical Association
South Carolina Department of Insurance
South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners
South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society
South Carolina Health and Human Services
All MD South Carolina Healthcare Defense Attorney Listing