Medical indemnity premiums and claims trends stabilised last year, according to a report by the Medical Indemnity Industry Association of Australia (MIIAA). The report shows claims against doctors fell 7% and indemnity premiums dropped 4%.

The figures tend to support claims that the medical indemnity crisis of the past decade is ending and hefty annual rate increases are a thing of the past.

MIIAA Chairman Andrew Miller says the figures show industry efforts and Federal Government initiatives such as tort law reform and the high-cost claims scheme have worked to bring medical indemnity insurance to a healthy operational position.

“Medical indemnity is a vital part of Australia’s health system,” he said. “Unless we have a secure and stable medical indemnity industry we will not be prepared for the future challenges facing our health system.”

The report also showed the gap between premiums collected and projected claims has become virtually non-existent, meaning funding can be put into reserves.

Despite the positive news, Dr Miller says more will still be done to maintain the stability   of the industry, including more data collection than that already required by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in order to identify specific specialties, procedures and risky practices.