The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses
研究了1984至2003年间侵权法改革对美国医疗事故保险公司最终损失的影响，发现非经济损失赔偿上限显著降低损失并提高盈利能力，且长期效果大于预期。
Abstract Whereas the literature evaluating the effect of tort reforms has focused on the impact of reforms on insurers' reported incurred losses, this article examines the ultimate effects of reforms using the developed losses from a comprehensive sample of insurers writing medical malpractice insurance from 1984 to 2003. Noneconomic damages caps are particularly influential in reducing medical malpractice losses and increasing insurer profitability. The long‐run effects of these reforms are greater than insurers' expected effects; for example, 5‐ and 7‐year developed loss ratios are below the initially reported incurred loss ratios for those years following the enactment of noneconomic damages caps. Analyses of reported losses consequently understate the ultimate effects of tort reforms. The quantile regressions show that reforms have the greatest effects for the firms that are at the high end of the loss distribution.