Doctors Wooed With Low Malpractice Premiums
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday February 23, 1988
Australian medical defence unions - principally the 13,000-member Australasian Medical Defence Union and the 7,000-member NSW Medical Defence Union - are trying to fight off a private company which has moved to drastically undercut their premiums for malpractice insurance.
The defence unions' premiums have jumped from $80 to $1,992 for unlimited cover, in only nine years.
The insurance broker Willis Faber Johnson and Higgins has targeted disgruntled general practitioners who believe they are paying exorbitant premiums to subsidise specialists who are much more likely to be sued.
The company is offering $1 million indemnity to GPs for $1,000 a year, provided that they are not regularly involved in certain specialist work, such as delivering babies.
Since January 1, the company has mailed information directly to 5,000 general practitioners in NSW.
In reply, the Australasian Medical Defence Union and NSW Medical Defence Union have written to their members saying that:
* Cases often may not be settled for more than five years, by which time a policy with a ceiling of $1 million would be inadequate.
* Commercial insurers cover malpractice only, not legal advice.
* Commercial insurers in the United States initially introduced low premiums. In subsequent years, premiums soared.
© 1988 Sydney Morning Herald
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