{
  "slug": "malpractice-insurance-cost-calculator",
  "title": "Malpractice Insurance Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Professional Malpractice Insurance Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/malpractice-insurance-cost-calculator",
  "summary": "Specialty, state, limits, and claims-made maturity turned into an annual premium.",
  "description": "Medical and professional malpractice premiums vary by an order of magnitude across specialties and by a factor of three or more across states for the same specialty, because both claim frequency and jury verdicts are local. This calculator applies a specialty risk factor to a base rate you set for your state, adjusts for the limits you carry (commonly $1M per claim and $3M aggregate), and applies the claims-made step factor — a first-year claims-made policy is heavily discounted and steps up over roughly five years to a mature rate, which is why year-three premiums shock physicians who budgeted from their first-year bill. It also estimates tail coverage, the one-time purchase that keeps you covered for incidents reported after the policy ends, typically priced at 150-250% of the mature annual premium. Part-time and locum practice, group discounts, and risk-management credits move real quotes further, so treat the output as a planning figure.",
  "formula": "Premium = Base Rate × Specialty Factor × Limit Factor × Claims-Made Step × (1 − Credits). Tail ≈ Mature Premium × Tail Multiple.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-06",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=malpractice-insurance-cost-calculator",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "base",
      "label": "State base rate (mature, $1M/$3M)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9000,
      "unit": "$/year",
      "min": 500,
      "max": 200000
    },
    {
      "id": "specialty",
      "label": "Specialty / practice risk",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "medium",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "low",
          "label": "Low — psychiatry, dermatology, allied health"
        },
        {
          "value": "medium",
          "label": "Medium — internal medicine, family practice"
        },
        {
          "value": "high",
          "label": "High — emergency medicine, anesthesia"
        },
        {
          "value": "veryhigh",
          "label": "Very high — OB/GYN, neurosurgery, orthopedics"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "limit",
      "label": "Limits",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "1m3m",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "500k1.5m",
          "label": "$500k / $1.5M"
        },
        {
          "value": "1m3m",
          "label": "$1M / $3M"
        },
        {
          "value": "2m6m",
          "label": "$2M / $6M"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "year",
      "label": "Claims-made year",
      "kind": "select",
      "hint": null,
      "default": "3",
      "options": [
        {
          "value": "1",
          "label": "Year 1"
        },
        {
          "value": "2",
          "label": "Year 2"
        },
        {
          "value": "3",
          "label": "Year 3"
        },
        {
          "value": "4",
          "label": "Year 4"
        },
        {
          "value": "5",
          "label": "Year 5+ (mature)"
        },
        {
          "value": "occ",
          "label": "Occurrence policy"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "partTimePct",
      "label": "Clinical FTE",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 100,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 10,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "credits",
      "label": "Risk management / group credits",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "tailMultiple",
      "label": "Tail coverage multiple",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2,
      "unit": "× mature",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 3
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "annual",
      "label": "Premium this policy year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "monthly",
      "label": "Per month",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "mature",
      "label": "Mature annual premium",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "tail",
      "label": "Estimated tail coverage cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "fiveYear",
      "label": "First five years combined",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "State base rate (mature, $1M/$3M): 9000 $/year",
      "Specialty / practice risk: Medium — internal medicine, family practice",
      "Limits: $1M / $3M",
      "Claims-made year: Year 3",
      "Clinical FTE: 100 %",
      "Risk management / group credits: 10 %",
      "Tail coverage multiple: 2 × mature"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Premium this policy year: $6,480",
      "Per month: $540",
      "Mature annual premium: $8,100",
      "Estimated tail coverage cost: $16,200",
      "First five years combined: $29,808"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter state base rate (mature, $1m/$3m) ($/year).",
      "Enter specialty / practice risk.",
      "Enter limits.",
      "Enter claims-made year.",
      "Enter clinical fte (%).",
      "Enter risk management / group credits (%).",
      "Enter tail coverage multiple (× mature).",
      "Read your premium this policy year on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "base": 5500,
        "specialty": "medium",
        "limit": "1m3m",
        "year": "3",
        "partTimePct": 60,
        "credits": 6,
        "tailMultiple": 1.2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "base": 9000,
        "specialty": "medium",
        "limit": "1m3m",
        "year": "3",
        "partTimePct": 100,
        "credits": 10,
        "tailMultiple": 2
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "base": 14500,
        "specialty": "medium",
        "limit": "1m3m",
        "year": "3",
        "partTimePct": 100,
        "credits": 16,
        "tailMultiple": 3
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Claims-made or occurrence?",
      "a": "Occurrence policies cover incidents that happen during the policy period whenever they are reported, and cost more up front but need no tail. Claims-made costs less early and requires tail coverage — or a new insurer's prior-acts coverage — when you leave."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why does year three cost more than year one?",
      "a": "A claims-made policy in year one only covers incidents from that single year. Each year adds exposure until the policy matures, usually around year five, so budget for the step-up rather than the first-year quote."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who pays for tail coverage?",
      "a": "It is negotiable in employment contracts and frequently a sticking point. Employers sometimes pay it if you stay a minimum term or leave for retirement, so read that clause before signing."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this apply to non-medical professions?",
      "a": "The same structure prices lawyers, accountants, architects, and consultants, with different base rates and specialty factors. Set the base rate to your profession's filed range and use the risk tiers accordingly."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/business-liability-insurance-cost-calculator",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/workers-comp-premium-calculator"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Malpractice Insurance Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/malpractice-insurance-cost-calculator)"
}