Headwinds Continue for MPL Insurance Sector Despite Improvement in 2022
(Rockville, MD, May 31, 2023)—A new report issued by the MPL Association shows the medical professional liability insurance sector had a combined ratio that improved from 108.1% in 2021 to 102.2% in 2022. While the results of 2022 represent the best performance since 2017 when the industry reported a combined ratio of 101.7%, the industry has still not generated an underwriting profit since 2013.
“Almost all the improvement in the 2022 combined ratio was due to a drop of 5.1 percentage points in the loss and loss adjustment expense ratio from 82.2% in 2021 to 77.1% in 2022,” said MPL Association Vice President of Research & Analytics Bill Burns, lead author of the report. “The industry showed no improvement in the accident year 2022 loss and LAE ratio. Therefore, improvement in the industry’s calendar year results is due almost solely to favorable loss reserve development on prior accident years.”
In addition to analyzing financial performance, the report also examines direct premiums written for physicians and hospitals, as well as other healthcare professionals and other facilities. In 2022, direct premiums grew by only 5.8%, a drop of almost 50% from the growth rate seen in 2021, the report, “Medical Professional Liability Industry Overview & Analysis,” found. While 18 of the top 20 companies reported premium growth in 2022, the average growth rate was 10 percentage points lower than in 2021.
The MPL Association is hosting a webinar on June 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET, “MPL Insurance Sector Report: 2022 Financial Results Analysis and 2023 Financial Outlook.” The presentation will dive deeper into the report and provide analysis and commentary on the 2022 results and what challenges the sector may face in the year ahead. Webinar registration and the full report are available at www.MPLassociation.org.