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Malpractice claims costs will increase (yet again) in 2004

Physician Practice Advisor, February 4, 2004

In the last three years, malpractice claim costs have grown about 10% a year, and they're predicted to increase another 9.7% in 2004, according to Aon's Risk's Services' "Hospital Professional Liability and Physician Liability Benchmark Study."

In every category studied, the expectations led to one conclusion--medical professionals should plan on boosting their malpractice insurance line items. According to the study physician liability claims are expected to average $178,000 in 2004, up from $120,000 in 1996.

"While the frequency of award demands are increasing, the real problem is found as a result of the severity of claims," said Greg Larcher, assistant director and actuary for Aon Actuarial and Analytics Practice. "...This study speaks to the underlying frequency and severity trends that are driving these premiums [and shows] that claims activity is a significant contributor to the recent increases in market premiums."

Visit http://www.aon.com/actuarial/ to read highlights of the study.

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