Top 4 Medical Malpractice Insurance Carriers in Montana
We recommend carriers with an AM Best “A” or higher rating. An A rating indicates financial strength, long-term solvency, and an established history of protecting Montana physicians.
- The Doctors Company
- Medical Protective
- Curi Group
- Coverys Group
2025 Montana Malpractice Insurance Rates by Specialty
These rate estimates are for informational purposes only and are based on the MT standard limits of $1,000,000 per claim / $3,000,000 aggregate per year in coverage.
Quotes require a completed application and approval from the underwriter. Contact us for a custom estimate if you don’t see your specialty.
| Specialty | 2025 Annual Premium |
2025 Tail Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Anesthesiology | $31,000 | $62,000 |
| Cardiovascular Disease– Minor Surgery | $34,000 | $68,000 |
| Dermatology– No Surgery | $14,000 | $28,000 |
| Emergency Medicine | $40,000 | $80,000 |
| Family Practice– No Surgery | $19,000 | $38,000 |
| Gastroenterology– No Surgery | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| General Practice– No Surgery | $19,000 | $38,000 |
| General Surgery | $78,000 | $156,000 |
| Internal Medicine– No Surgery | $19,000 | $38,000 |
| Neurology– No Surgery | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology– Major Surgery | $93,000 | $186,000 |
| Occupational Medicine | $12,000 | $24,000 |
| Ophthalmology– No Surgery | $12,000 | $24,000 |
| Orthopedic Surgery– No Spine | $78,000 | $156,000 |
| Pathology– No Surgery | $17,000 | $34,000 |
| Pediatrics– No Surgery | $17,000 | $34,000 |
| Pulmonary Disease– No Surgery | $22,000 | $44,000 |
| Psychiatry | $12,000 | $24,000 |
| Radiology – Diagnostic | $34,000 | $68,000 |
Montana Medical Malpractice Payouts From 2015-2024
How Extreme Weather Is Driving Up Malpractice Insurance in Montana
When wildfires, tornadoes, and other severe weather events strike Montana, the financial fallout extends far beyond damaged homes and infrastructure. It drives up insurance costs statewide. As these events grow more frequent and intense, insurers face mounting losses and respond by raising premiums across the board. That includes medical malpractice insurance, where healthcare professionals are now shouldering the cost of a destabilized market.
What’s Causing Insurance Rates to Climb?
How Montana’s Medical Malpractice Rates Are Impacted
Medical malpractice insurers in Montana are now grappling with surging reinsurance premiums and tougher payout conditions. To offset their rising costs, they’ve raised premiums for physicians and healthcare groups. In 2024, Montana ranked among the states with the steepest increases in malpractice insurance rates.
Severe weather isn’t just a coastal problem; it’s reshaping insurance costs for everyone.
Types of Professional Liability Insurance for Montana Physicians
Types of Professional Liability Insurance for Montana Physicians
Doctors in Montana can choose between these two primary types of medical malpractice insurance:
- Provides coverage for incidents that occurred during the policy period, IF the claim is filed while the policy is still active. If a claim is filed after the policy has ended, that claim is NOT covered.
- Typically, it offers lower premiums at the start of the policy, but rates increase yearly as the policy matures.
- Physicians must obtain tail insurance coverage when a claims-made policy ends to ensure protection against future claims related to incidents that occurred during the policy period. Tail insurance premiums require a one-time cash payment to the expiring carrier equal to approximately 200% of the claims-made policy’s annual premium.
- Montana physicians may opt to purchase nose coverage, or prior acts coverage, instead of tail coverage. Nose coverage can be purchased through a new carrier to protect physicians from claims that occurred before the effective date of the new policy, back to a specified date.
- Provides coverage for incidents that occurred during the policy period, regardless of when a claim is reported to the carrier.
- Typically, it offers more costly premiums at the start of the policy, but the rate stays constant throughout the policy’s duration.
- Physicians do not need tail coverage when an occurrence policy ends.
In 2024, Montana physicians were held liable for 38 medical malpractice payouts.
- Average Payout: $699,078
- Total Payout: $26,565,000
(Source: National Practitioner Data Bank)
Does Montana Have Damage Caps for Medical Malpractice Lawsuits?
Montana Code 25-9-411, amended in March 2025 via House Bill 195, sets a non-economic damage cap of $300,000 per claimant in medical malpractice cases. The cap will increase by $50,000 per year until it reaches $500,000 in 2029, at which point the cap will increase by 2% annually.
Key Rules & Exceptions
- Definition of Non-Economic Damages: Non-economic damages refer to compensation for intangible losses that do not have a direct monetary value. In Montana, this includes pain and suffering, emotional distress, inconvenience, loss of companionship or society, injury to reputation, humiliation, and other subjective, non-financial harms.
- No Cap on Economic Damages: Montana does not limit the amount a jury can award for economic damages, including medical expenses and lost wages.
- Punitive Damages: Punitive damages are awarded separately from non-economic damages and are only granted when the defendant is proven to have acted with actual fraud or actual malice. The burden of proof is high, requiring clear and convincing evidence to support the claim. Awards are capped at the lesser of $10 million or 3% of the defendant’s net worth.
- Challenges to Constitutionality: Montana’s cap on non-economic damages has faced legal challenges, but courts have upheld it to date. The 2025 legislative revision was a proactive effort by supporters to reinforce its constitutionality and reduce the risk of it being struck down by state courts.
- Pre-Litigation Review Panel: Nearly all medical malpractice claims must be reviewed by the Montana Medical Legal Panel before proceeding to court, with limited exceptions. This mandatory pre-litigation process is designed to prevent meritless or frivolous claims from reaching court.
- Expert Testimony: In most medical malpractice cases, expert testimony is required, and the expert witness must provide an opinion on whether a breach of the standard of care occurred.
- The expert must be a healthcare provider who has recently practiced in a field directly related to the subject of the claim and is familiar with the applicable standard of care.
- There are a few exceptions to the expert testimony requirement, including when negligence is evident to the average person or when a foreign object is left in the body.
Montana Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims
Montana Statute 27-2-205 states that a medical malpractice claim must be filed within 2 years of when the injury occurred or was discovered, or should have been discovered, whichever comes last, but not more than 5 years from the date of injury. There are a few key exceptions:
- Concealment: The statute is tolled for any period in which the defendant knew, or reasonably should have known, about the act or error and failed to disclose the information.
- Minor Plaintiffs: If the injured party was under the age of 4 at the time of injury, the statute is tolled until the minor turns 8 or dies, whichever occurs first. The statute is also tolled for any time during which the minor does not live with a parent or guardian.
- Legal Disability: If the plaintiff is under a legal disability due to a mental illness that requires commitment to a mental health facility, the statute is tolled during the period of disability. However, this cannot extend the statute period by more than 5 years, regardless of the duration of the disability.
Is Montana a Physician-Friendly Place to Practice?
Montana consistently ranks among the best states to practice medicine. It has been ranked the best state to practice medicine by WalletHub for three consecutive years.
The Montana government consistently passes and upholds legislation that favors physicians, including:
Other significant advantages for physicians include:
However, massive increases in malpractice premiums offset these benefits and threaten to make it less affordable to practice in Montana.
Montana doctors can benefit from working with a knowledgeable malpractice insurance broker to manage rising costs. MEDPLI helps physicians find the right coverage at the best possible rate, bringing peace of mind through malpractice market uncertainty.
Montana Doctors Partner with MEDPLI
We exclusively broker medical malpractice insurance, focusing daily on making the professional liability process less burdensome and expensive for doctors.
With MEDPLI, Montana physicians:
MEDPLI helps doctors in every specialty.
Whether you’re an Anesthesiologist in Billings or a Med Spa Owner in Bozeman, MEDPLI will find you premier coverage at a competitive rate.
Call 800-969-1339 or Request a Quote.
