How to buy malpractice insurance in Alaska

The best way to buy malpractice coverage is to work with a reputable malpractice insurance broker in Alaska who can generate multiple quotes. Your broker will walk you through the lengthy insurance application and underwriting process. Click to get medical malpractice insurance quotes from every major Alaska malpractice insurance company..

Typically, the malpractice insurance purchasing process goes like this:

1. Submit your information for your free medical malpractice insurance quote from every major insurance company in Alaska.
2. One of our veteran malpractice insurance agents who specializes in the Alaska market will contact you to learn more about your specific needs.
3. We shop your coverage to every major insurance company in Alaska.
4. We present you with a number of insurance quotes and give you the information necessary to make an educated and informed decision. Don’t worry. We’re here every step of the way, helping you get the best price with the best company.
5. At renewal time, we restart the process of shopping your coverage among every major carrier to keep your policy properly priced.

How to save money on your malpractice insurance

• The easiest way to save money on your medical malpractice insurance policy is by working with a broker who has the access to generate quotes from every major insurance company, offering an accurate view of the marketplace. As one of the top brokers in Alaska, we can guide you through the application and underwriting process so you’re confident you secured the best price with the right insurer for your situation.
• The most common limits in Alaska are $1 million/$3 million. Limits of liability play a major role in determining the overall cost of your policy. Some companies will offer lower limits to save you money. We don’t recommend this. We want your risks fully indemnified so you never have to pay an award out of pocket. Let us save you money by shopping your coverage rather than skimp on protection.
• Check out our 7 secrets your medical malpractice insurance agent won’t tell you page to get insider information on buying coverage in Alaska.

Medical malpractice requirements in Alaska

Limits of Liability: The most common limits of liability in Alaska are $1 million per claim with an annual aggregate cap of $3 million.

Most hospitals require a physician carry malpractice insurance prior to granting admitting privileges. Some of the hospital systems requiring this include, but are not limited to, Providence Alaska Medical Center, Alaska Regional Hospital and Fairbanks Memorial.

Best Medical malpractice insurance companies in Alaska

1. Medical Protective
2. The Doctors Company
3. NORCAL

Why partner with Cunningham Group?

Partnering with Cunningham Group will give you a full view of the Alaskan marketplace. We can get you quotes from all the major insurance companies and help you choose the policy that best fits your needs and budget. Our veteran insurance agents average 10+ years of industry experience. Let us help you secure medical malpractice insurance quotes from every major insurance company in Alaska.

Brief History and other important facts of medical malpractice insurance in Alaska

Since the initial reforms in 1975, Alaska has continued to pass important reforms, including the 1997 Alaska Tort Reform Act. Also known as HB 58, this Act capped the dollar amount of awards for punitive and noneconomic damages, limiting the award for injury or death to the greater of $400,000 or the injured person’s life expectancy in years multiplied by $8,000, with limits of $1,000,000 or the person’s life expectancy in years multiplied by $25,000 in cases of permanent physical impairment or severe disfigurement. The act also revised the state’s liability allocation system from joint and several to several and created a 10-year statute of repose (actions for wrongful death must be brought within two years).

In 2005, the Alaska legislature further tightened damage caps through the Alaska Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, setting the cap to $250,000 in cases where the injury is determined to be less than 70 percent disabling. For injuries resulting in death or that are 70 percent or more disabling, the caps remain at $400,000.

In 2012, the Alaska Healthcare Commission studied the effects of 1997 and 2005 legislation and found that the reforms “made a positive impact on the cost of medical liability coverage for Alaska’s medical sector.” Their key findings on malpractice insurance rates:

• In 1996 medical professional liability rates for physicians in Alaska were approximately two times those in northern California (considered the “gold standard” in liability reform)
• Today, in 2012, Alaska’s medical liability costs are in line with those in northern California

On Sept. 14, 2018, the Alaska Supreme Court significantly strengthened the protection for records and materials submitted to, or reviewed by, peer review organizations with its landmark decision interpreting the Alaska Medical Peer Review Statute. In a unanimous decision reversing two lower court rulings, the Alaska Supreme Court in Mat-Su Valley Medical Center v. Bolinder (Mat-Su v. Bolinder) ruled that the medical peer review statute prohibits discovery of data, information, proceedings and records of medical peer review organizations, but does not protect from discovery a witness’s personal knowledge and observations or materials originating outside the medical peer review process. The Supreme Court ruled that the Alaska Medical Peer Review Statute protects from discovery “all data and information acquired by a review organization in the exercise of its duties and functions.” Thus, all of the materials presented to the peer review committees were privileged and not subject to discovery. Mat-Su v. Bolinder is the first time the Alaska Supreme Court has considered the scope of the medical peer review statute in a material way even though the statute was originally enacted in 1976.

Resources for Alaska Physicians

Alaska State Medical Association
Medical Malpractice Insurance Guide
Alaska Division of Insurance
Alaska State Medical Board
Alaska Osteopathic Medical Association
Alaska Medicaid
ALL MD Alaska Healthcare Defense Attorney Listing