“Super Losses” of Healthcare Sector

The overall cost and frequency of so called $50 million plus “super losses” in the U.S. healthcare insurance sector are on the rise.

According to a report from specialist healthcare insurer Hiscox, the large losses keep on getting larger with juries in the last two years alone awarding more than $1 billion in total damages for just seven medical liability cases.

The rise in large claims is happening despite the clear benefits of the implementation of quality and patient safety measures, Hiscox said.

Record awards are being made in cases ranging from inadequate staffing at nursing homes to medical negligence in hospitals. Seven states have recently declared their largest ever medical malpractice awards, according to the report.

While many healthcare institutions continue to risk manage their more modest loss levels well, many others are experiencing mid-sized losses getting steadily larger together with a rise in frequency of catastrophic medical loss, the insurer said.

Also, while some cases have been, or will be revised down on appeal, there are clear signs that the overall trend in “super losses” is upwards.

Among the recent “super losses” cited by Hiscox: