Homewood Insurance Group Releases 2026 Medical Malpractice Market Update: Premiums Continue Upward Trend as Nuclear Verdicts Drive Severity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOMEWOOD INSURANCE GROUP: MEDICAL MALPRACTICE PREMIUMS RISE FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT YEAR AS TOP-50 VERDICTS AVERAGE A RECORD $56 MILLION
Firm cites AMA and Medical Liability Monitor data showing 39.9% of premiums rose in 2025; clients moving to alternative markets are securing 5 to 12 percent savings

Naples, Florida- May 13, 2026 - Homewood Insurance Group today released its 2026 Medical Professional Liability Outlook, citing the American Medical Association's latest Policy Research Perspectives report and the Medical Liability Monitor's 35th Annual Rate Survey to confirm what brokers across the country are seeing at the renewal table: medical malpractice rates continued to rise in 2025 for the seventh consecutive year, even as carrier appetite narrowed and verdict severity reached record levels.

According to the AMA report, 39.9 percent of reported medical professional liability premiums rose year over year in 2025 - the second-highest reading since 2005. Eleven states recorded at least one premium increase of 10 percent or more, with Rhode Island, Utah, South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida leading the table. The medical professional liability industry has now posted eleven consecutive years of underwriting losses, closing 2024 with a combined ratio of 103 percent.

Verdict severity is climbing even faster. Research published by The Doctors Company and Moore Actuarial Consulting in September 2025 found the average of the top 50 U.S. medical malpractice verdicts rose from $32 million in 2022 to $56 million in 2024 - a 75 percent increase in two years. The count of so-called "nuclear" verdicts exceeding $10 million jumped 52 percent between 2023 and 2024 alone, and reports of claims exceeding $2 million are now more than ten times what they were in 1990.

"Frequency is at multi-decade lows, but severity is what carriers are pricing for, and severity has gone vertical," said Ralph Schiller, senior broker at Homewood Insurance Group. "When the top 50 verdicts average $56 million, every underwriter in the country is recalibrating, and clients who renew with the same carrier on autopilot are paying for that recalibration whether they need to or not."
In response, Homewood's medical malpractice practice now monitors more than 100 carriers weekly for capacity shifts, appetite changes, and emerging programs, including captives, risk retention groups and surplus-lines options. In the first quarter of 2026, the firm placed dozens of clients in alternative markets that delivered lower premiums or broader coverage, with most savings landing in the 5 to 12 percent range.

The firm also pairs placement work with risk-management programs targeting the contributing factors most often cited in claims data. Candello, the malpractice data collaborative operated by CRICO, reported in November 2025 that communication failures now factor into 40 percent of asserted malpractice cases, up from approximately 30 percent a decade earlier. Documentation gaps and scope-of-practice issues also rank among the top drivers of claim severity.

"The carriers shedding business are not the only carriers in the market, and the placement that worked last year is rarely the placement that works best this year," Schiller added. "Our job is to know which doors are still open and walk our clients through the right one before their renewal lands on the desk."

Homewood Insurance Group is offering no-obligation 2026 renewal reviews to healthcare providers, physician practices and senior-living operators. The senior living segment, which Medical Liability Monitor has identified as the fastest-growing medical professional liability category with a 15 percent compound annual growth rate since 2016, has been particularly affected as more than 40 percent of traditional carriers have either exited the segment or curtailed their appetite.

https://homewood.insure/

4850 Tamiami Trail N, 3rd Floor
Naples, FL 34103
Contact: Ralph Schiller - Phone +1-947-274-3093
rschiller@homewood.insure

Homewood Insurance Group is a leading specialty agent for medical malpractice, general liability, sexual abuse/molestation, and cyber liability coverage for healthcare, social services, and senior-living organizations. With access to nearly 100 carriers and deep underwriting relationships, Homewood delivers superior claims handling, risk management, and cost-effective solutions in a challenging market.

This release was published on openPR.