In response to the medical professional liability (MPL) coverage crisis in the early years of the last decade, many new insurance programs specializing in MPL were created. Now that these companies have matured and posted several years of their own experience on their books, it is a good time to examine how they are performing relative to their long-established peers.

While they have generally thrived, these new companies are facing emerging challenges, including continuing soft-market conditions, a declining independent-physician exposure base, lower anticipated investment returns, and higher underwriting-expense ratios.

Reprinted from the Fourth Quarter 2011 issue of Physician Insurer Magazine, Physician Insurers Association of America. Copyright, 2011.