Is medical malpractice insurance as expensive as people think? In fact, the cost of medical malpractice insurance varies significantly, and there are many determining factors. Like any type of insurance, it's based primarily on risk. Here's what you need to know.

Where Do You Perform Medicine?

Some areas are more expensive and more litigious than others. If you live in a big city, you're more likely to have a high premium. Additionally, if you have a high cost of living, you're likely to have a high premium. When it comes to insurance, everything is relative and related to the costs around you. Working for a large hospital rather than a private practice can also change things. 

What Type of Medicine Do You Perform?

Of course, high risk areas are going to have higher premiums. A traditional family doctor will have lower premiums than a surgeon. But it's not as significant as you might think. In terms of factors, where you perform medicine is usually of higher significance.

What Volume of People Do You See?

The busier you are, the more likely you are to potentially get sued. If you're seeing a lot of patients (and making a lot of money), you can reasonably expect to pay more for your premiums. If your business becomes less busy, and you scale downwards, then you will see your premiums go down. 

What History Do You Have?

If you've been getting sued left and right, you'll have higher medical malpractice premiums. This is true even if you weren't ultimately to blame. If you have a long history free of lawsuits and malpractice, then you'll see your premiums going down.

How Much Coverage You Have?

You can get different coverage levels, depending on how much malpractice insurance you think you should have. If you want to reduce the cost of your malpractice insurance, you can reduce your coverage. This is the most direct way for you to reduce your coverage, but it comes with some significant risks.

There aren't a lot of things that you can do to control the cost of your medical malpractice insurance, beyond shopping around for other insurance products. But as you progress as a doctor and control your risk management, you should see your medical malpractice insurance going down. For the most part, malpractice insurance isn't critically expensive, and it is very important to have. Your insurance agent can help you explore your options.