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West Virginia medical malpractice insurance guide

West Virginia’s noneconomic-damages limits are per occurrence, increase annually for inflation up to 150% of the statutory base, and are unavailable to a defendant without at least $1 million of aggregate professional-liability insurance for each occurrence. A physician self-funding trust has separate funding and tail requirements. 1,2

What Is Medical Malpractice?

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.

What to Watch for in West Virginia

  • The statutory insurance condition applies to the damages cap

    A defendant cannot use the noneconomic-damages limits unless it has at least $1 million in aggregate medical professional liability insurance for each occurrence covering the injury. This is a condition for using the cap, not proof of a universal insurance-buying mandate; confirm the amount and insured defendant for the relevant occurrence. 1

  • The limit groups plaintiffs and defendants by occurrence

    The statutory occurrence includes all injuries to one patient arising from care and related continuing or follow-up care, even across multiple dates, encounters or admissions. The noneconomic ceiling is also per occurrence regardless of claimant or defendant count, with a higher statutory ceiling for wrongful death or specified permanent injuries. Match the policy’s per-occurrence limit and current indexed amount to this grouping rule. 1,3

  • Self-funding does not remove transition obligations

    A physician’s qualifying irrevocable trust starts at $1 million, exclusive of defense and administration costs, and must be replenished under the statute. When moving from the trust to commercial insurance, tail or prior-acts coverage must span the trust period to the new policy or 12 years, whichever is shorter. 2

  • Retirement may require continued protection

    A physician with an actuarially sound self-funding program in effect at retirement must maintain the trust at required funding levels or maintain tail insurance for at least the applicable professional-liability limitation period. 2

Who Regulates Insurance in West Virginia

West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner

The West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner administers West Virginia insurance laws, oversees insurers and insurance producers within its authority, and provides regulatory and consumer resources. You can use the department's complaint process to raise an insurance issue and its licensing resources to check insurance professionals. 4,5,6

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 4% of premium plus 0.55% surcharge The NAIC's state chart lists a 4% of premium plus 0.55% surcharge charge for surplus-lines coverage for West Virginia (the chart's state entries were reviewed in October 2025). Your broker may collect the applicable amount with the premium. Surplus-lines insurers are not licensed in the state and generally are outside state guaranty-association protection; ask your broker to explain the insurer's financial protections and any diligent-search requirement that applies to your placement. 7,8

Providers With Documented State Licenses

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

  • CorgiCorgi Insurance Services, Inc.Insurance producer · checked 2026-09-28Corgi’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. 11
  • VouchVouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLCInsurance producer, Surplus-lines broker · checked 2026-09-28Vouch’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. 15

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in West Virginia

  1. Does the policy provide at least $1 million aggregate for each occurrence and cover each defendant whose noneconomic damages may be capped?
  2. What current inflation-adjusted per-occurrence amount applies, and how are multiple claimants or qualifying severe injuries handled?
  3. If a physician uses a self-funded trust, what independent trustee, claims manager, replenishment and tail/prior-acts terms are in place?

Medical Malpractice in West Virginia: FAQ

Does West Virginia require all providers to buy $1 million in insurance? 1

The cited statute makes at least $1 million aggregate per occurrence a condition for a defendant to use the noneconomic-damages limits; it does not by itself establish a universal purchase mandate. 1

What happens when a physician closes a West Virginia self-funding trust? 2

Before trust assets may be distributed, the statute requires certification of commercial tail or prior-acts coverage for the trust period through the new policy, or 12 years, whichever is shorter. 2

Medical Malpractice in Other States

Other Coverage in West Virginia

Sources

  1. W. Va. Code §55-7B-8, Limit on liability for noneconomic loss. West Virginia Legislature; Subsections (a)-(e): per-occurrence limits, severe-injury/wrongful-death exceptions, CPI ceiling and $1 million aggregate insurance condition. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  2. W. Va. Code §55-7B-12, Self-funding program. West Virginia Legislature; Subsections (a)-(f): physician irrevocable trust minimum, transition to commercial coverage, tail/prior-acts period and retirement continuation. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  3. W. Va. Code §55-7B-2, Definitions. West Virginia Legislature; Subsections (g), (l) and (o): health-care provider/entity, occurrence grouping for same-patient follow-up care, related entities. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  4. West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner. West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner; Official regulator website; insurance oversight and consumer/professional resources. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. Insurance Department Directory. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner entry; official contact and website listing. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Taxes. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; WV row; state surplus-lines premium-tax rate reviewed October 2025. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. Guaranty Associations & Funds. National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Coverage of claims from insolvencies of insurers licensed in a state; surplus-lines insurers are nonadmitted. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  9. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  10. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  11. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  12. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  13. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

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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