The Australian Medical Association says the rising cost of indemnity insurance premiums is a significant and growing concern for its members. 

The association and its NSW branch met with medical defence organisations (MDOs) last month to discuss the issue after it was the “topic of a robust debate” at the national conference on the Gold Coast.

Changes to scopes of practice and how healthcare is delivered were also raised as having implications for the medical indemnity sector.

“The MDOs were alert to the concerns of members, with most being member-based mutual organisations. They also shared broad insights on trends in the global insurance market,” AMA says on its website.

“There was strong recognition of the need to maintain open lines of communication and collaborate further with the AMA on systemic policy issues impacting on the sector, while respecting the competitive nature of the industry and the constraints imposed by competition law.”

Representatives attended the meeting from Avant, MDA National, Medical Indemnity Protection Society, MIGA and Tego.

“Avant Mutual welcomed the recent meeting with the AMA, AMA NSW and other MDOs where we discussed medical indemnity insurance trends and systemic policy issues impacting the healthcare sector,” a spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“We regularly engage with health stakeholder groups when representing the interests of our members and advocating for quality, safety and professionalism in medical practice.”  

Avant recently told Insurance News magazine its average rate increases have been below inflation for the past few renewal cycles.

Some limited specialties have seen double-digit increases, reflecting claims frequency and severity, representing less than 1% of the member base.