The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses

Patricia Born, W Kip Viscusi and Tom Baker

No 12086, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Whereas the literature evaluating the effect of tort reforms has focused on reported incurred losses, this paper examines the long run effects using a comprehensive sample by state of individual firms writing medical malpractice insurance from 1984-2003. The long run effects of reforms are greater than insurers' expected effects, as five year developed losses and ten year developed losses are below the initially reported incurred losses for those years following reform measures. The quantile regressions show the greatest effects of joint and several liability limits, noneconomic damages caps, and punitive damages reforms for the firms that are at the high end of the loss distribution. These quantile regression results show stronger, more concentrated effects of the reforms than do the OLS and fixed effects estimates for the entire sample.

JEL-codes: K13 G22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-ias and nep-law
Date: 2006-03
Note: LE
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Related works:
Journal Article: The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses (2009)
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