"Sorry" no longer the hardest word

Healthcare is not an industry for the faint-hearted. As the population ages, and more patients enroll for care, so the demands on medical practitioners, their employers, insurers and reinsurers will multiply. Inevitably, patients' expectations will increase even as the solutions that are developed to meet their needs become more technical, more complex and more expensive.

However, reform of tort law and in particular revisions regarding medical malpractice, have eased the situation somewhat. Recent reforms, which encourage physicians to communicate with patients about unexpected outcomes without their precise expressions being used in subsequent lawsuits, have resulted in greater case and therefore claims stability.

Supplementing these so-called "I'm sorry" laws, medical groups and the hospital industry are continuing to lobby for the enactment of state malpractice reform laws, all of which is serving to suppress the appetite for litigation.

In the short term the outlook for this sector seems positive - the market is stable and rates are generally adequate.

Our medical malpractice team understand the drivers of trends in healthcare insurance and are experts in the design of appropriate, highly tailored reinsurance solutions.

Tony Hill