Massachusetts Medical Malpractice: Market Access and Claim Reporting

Massachusetts defines a broad class of health care providers for its medical-malpractice market rules: direct medical-malpractice insurers must make available each primary coverage they offer to any eligible provider, while specialty pricing may still reflect relative risk. Separately, insurers and risk-management organizations covering registered physicians report specified final claim outcomes to the Board within 30 days.

What Is Medical Malpractice Insurance?

Medical malpractice insurance can pay defense costs and covered damages when a patient claims a clinician’s care caused harm. If you provide health care, match the quote to your practice, clinicians, specialties and procedures, then check who is insured. Read the national Medical malpractice guide.

Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Insurance Requirements

RequirementDetails
Eligible-provider market accessThe §193U availability rule uses categories eligible under the historical Joint Underwriting Association framework, including listed professionals, facilities, their agents and employees, and categories later designated by the commissioner; it excludes specified insurer types. 1
Registered physician reportingA provider of professional liability insurance to a registered physician must report claims/actions ending in judgment, settlement or a final disposition without payment within 30 days after that event. 2

What to Watch for With Medical Malpractice in Massachusetts

  • Do not collapse the provider classes

    The §193U market definition spans multiple professions and facilities; §5C’s 30-day insurer report is specifically about a registered physician. Confirm the exact insured’s license and entity rather than applying the physician reporting rule to every clinician. 1,2

  • A market-access rule is not one price

    Section 193U bars specialty discrimination within a provider category but allows reasonable risk classes and premium charges tied to specialty risk. Compare limits, defense terms and classification assumptions on the quote. 1

  • Check the insurer type

    Section 193U excludes specified member-owned foreign arrangements, the UMass self-funding trust, risk-retention groups and surplus-lines insurers from its definition of medical-malpractice insurer. Ask which framework applies to the offered paper. 1

  • Track final disposition, not only reserve date

    For registered-physician policies, §5C’s 30-day reporting trigger is a final judgment, any settlement, or final no-payment disposition. Keep those dates and Board reporting status with renewal material; policy reporting duties remain separate. 2

Providers With Massachusetts License Records

These providers publish a national listing for Medical malpractice; the license records below name the licensed entities and roles. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Massachusetts. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.

  • Corgi

    Insurance producer · checked 2026-09-28

    Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.

    Corgi’s company producer-license table lists 50 jurisdictions: 49 states and the District of Columbia, including DC license 3003091619. New Mexico does not appear in the table and is not included here; the omission does not establish that Corgi is unlicensed there. The company-reported table has no stated as-of date and does not establish product availability. 13

    Corgi markets medical malpractice insurance for health care professionals and organizations.

  • Vouch

    Insurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28

    Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC

    Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. 18

    Vouch arranges medical malpractice insurance for health care and life sciences businesses.

Who Regulates Insurance in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts Division of Insurance

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance licenses insurers and producers, reviews rates and forms, and handles insurance complaints. Use the State Based Systems lookup for producers, agencies, and surplus-lines brokers. For insurer status, use the DOI’s separate licensed or approved company lists, including the eligible surplus-lines company list. Before filing a complaint, contact the insurer or producer; if the response is unsatisfactory, submit the online form with supporting papers. The DOI says not to use the form for ongoing litigation. 3,4,5,6

Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Massachusetts

Reported tax rate. 4% of gross premiums less gross return premiums on risks or exposures in Massachusetts or another state when Massachusetts is the insured’s home state. 7,8,9,10

A diligent effort to place coverage with admitted insurers is generally required before surplus-lines placement through a specially licensed Massachusetts broker. The narrow §224 large-commercial exception is described in the note below.

  • Multi-state surplus-lines tax dates and exceptions: For this rule, home state means the state of the insured’s principal place of business or, for an individual, principal residence; if 100% of the risk is outside that state, home state is where the greatest percentage of taxable premium for that insurance contract is allocated. For multi-state policies effective on or after August 10, 2018, the Division of Insurance says the 4% tax applies to gross premium regardless of whether risks are inside or outside Massachusetts when Massachusetts is the insured’s home state. For earlier effective dates, Massachusetts risk portions are taxed at 4%, while out-of-state portions are taxed at the rates for their allocated premium. The Division lists exceptions for policies issued to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, federal credit unions when they are the purchaser, and tribal lands on reservations. Brokers still make required filings for exempt policies. Tax-exempt status alone is not specifically excluded. 7,8
  • Narrow large-commercial placement exception: Section 168(b)(iv) exempts the diligent-effort affidavit and excess-placement condition in §168(b)(iii) only for a §224 qualifying commercial risk or policyholder. The policyholder must acknowledge in writing that the insurer is not admitted and that the Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund will not pay an insolvency loss. Section 224 eligibility is limited to a corporation, partnership, trust, sole proprietorship, or other business or public entity with at least $30,000 in aggregate property-and-casualty premiums, excluding workers’ compensation. The holder must certify its election and understanding of limited regulatory oversight and certify at least two criteria: net worth of $10 million; net revenue or sales of $5 million; more than 25 employees per individual company OR more than 50 employees per holding company aggregate; a nonprofit or public entity with annual budget or assets of $25 million or more; a municipality with population of 20,000 or more; or retention of a risk manager who is either a full-time employee or retained by the policyholder; that person must be licensed and hold one of these qualifications: certified insurance counselor, chartered property and casualty underwriter, associate in risk management, certified risk manager, or licensed insurance advisor in property and casualty. 9,10

Questions to Ask Before You Buy Medical Malpractice in Massachusetts

  1. Which named insureds are physicians, entities, facilities or other eligible provider categories?
  2. What legal insurer type issues the policy, and is it within §193U’s definition or an exclusion?
  3. For each physician matter, what was the final disposition date and did the insurer report within 30 days?

Medical Malpractice Insurance in Massachusetts: FAQ

Does Massachusetts require every insurer to offer every provider the same policy?

Section 193U requires a defined direct medical-malpractice insurer to make available to each eligible provider the primary coverages it provides any provider, while allowing reasonable risk classification and excluding named insurer types. 1

Can premiums differ by specialty?

Yes. The statute prohibits specialty discrimination within a provider category but expressly permits reasonable risk classifications and premium charges based on relative specialty risk. 1

When is a registered physician claim reported to the Board?

The insurer or risk-management organization reports within 30 days after final judgment, settlement, or final disposition without payment; §5C covers registered physicians. 2

Medical Malpractice Insurance Guides for Other States

Other coverage in MassachusettsEvery coverage guide for Massachusetts, plus the regulator and surplus-lines details.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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