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MPL Investment and Asset Management Forum, Part II

Join us for the second of two exclusive online MPL Investment and Asset Management Thought Leader Forums.

Damage Cap Legislation Once Again a Major Issue for States

The MPL Association’s Government Relations Department provides insights from the 2023 state legislative sessions across the country, including an analysis of the multiple states that took significant steps to address caps on damages.

Headwinds Continue for MPL Insurance Sector Despite Improvement in 2022

A recent sector report from the MPL Association found that in 2022, the MPL insurance market presented mixed results. While the industry’s combined ratio improved, posting its best results since 2017, the industry hasn’t generated an underwriting profit in nearly a decade.  

Inside Medical Liability


Noneconomic Damage Caps


The MPL Association Data Sharing Project recorded the closure of approximately 22,000 paid claims from 2011 to 2020, resulting in approximately $8 billion paid in indemnity and $4 billion spent on defense expenses. During this period, a review of states with medical liability reforms revealed that 28 states had noneconomic damage caps (with one state implementing caps during that time) and 23 states had no caps (four of those states had caps declared unconstitutional during that time frame). Additionally, states with noneconomic damage caps reported a lower average indemnity payment of $249,556 compared to states without tort reform, which had an average indemnity payment of $388,430.

In states with tort reform, the percentage of claims decreased as the indemnity payment threshold increased, while states without tort reform distributed claims uniformly. The percentage of claims resulting in indemnity payments of at least $1 million more than doubled from 6.5% to 14.2%, when comparing states with tort reforms to those without.


*Nominal dollars and indemnity payments capped at $1 million.

Contact for more information:
Kwon Miller, Data & Analytics Manager kmiller@MPLassociation.org