No medical professional wants to make a mistake.

But as in life, there may be unexpected, sometimes tragicvariables, when it comes to human health care.

Medical malpractice insurance, or the professional liability insurance carried bymedical professionals, enables conscientious health care workers torecover from a wrongful practice claim that may include bodilyinjury, patient medical expenses, property damage, and lawsuitcosts.

When weighing medical malpractice carriers,doctors, dentists and other medical professionals often look firstat policy price. But their selection also tends to take intoaccount company history, peer referrals, and such value-addedservices as online training, risk analysis and policy review.

Research shows that medical professionals of all stripes canencounter, “challenges that may lead to adverseevents,” says Texas family physician Gerald Fincken,DO.

Fifteen medical malpractice carriers rose to the top of thatmarket in 2017, based on data from the National Association ofInsurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Direct premiums written and earned along with loss ratios andeach company's percentage of market share inform the NAIC's annualcarrier rankings. In 2017, BerkshireHathaway led the pack with roughly $1.09 billion in directpremiums written.

See also:

Top 15 homeowners' insurance carriers for2017, as ranked by NAIC

Top 15 workers' comp carriers for 2017, as rankedby NAIC