Florida Surgeons Medical Malpractice Insurance Buying Guide 2026

If you are a surgeon in need of medical malpractice insurance in Florida, SURGPLI is your go-to resource. When you work with SURGPLI, you get:

• Deep knowledge of Florida’s medical malpractice insurance marketplace
• Up-to-date information on the state’s legislation and tort reforms that affect rates and coverage requirements for your surgical specialty
• A wide range of A-rated carrier quotes through SURGPLI as a single point of contact

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Florida has added more residents than almost any other state over the past five years, with population growth trailing only Texas since 2020. Demand is high for OB/GYNs, orthopedic surgeons, and plastic surgeons, particularly to serve older retirees, as well as younger working professionals and families. This means surgeons in these high-risk specialties need comprehensive medical malpractice insurance.

• Requirements: Florida does not legally require surgeons to carry medical malpractice insurance.
• Payouts: Florida is among the top three U.S. states with the most medical malpractice payouts on record, totaling nearly $421.24 million over 1,315 cases in 2025.
• Recommendation: Protect yourself and your surgical practice in Florida from personal financial loss in the event of a lawsuit with medical malpractice insurance.

Carriers typically consider factors such as practice location, surgical specialty, and past claims history. Each malpractice insurance policy is underwritten individually, but the following rates are estimates to give you an idea of costs by high-risk specialty.

*Using the FL standard limits of $250,000 Each Claim / $750,000 Aggregate per year in coverage. These rates are estimates only and can vary widely depending on the location and the claims history of each physician.

Surgeons working in cities like Miami and Orlando will pay higher rates than those in less-populated locales.

SURGPLI specializes in both medical malpractice insurance and tail insurance coverage for Florida surgeons. Reach out for a quote.

We recommend A-rated carriers because of their long-term financial solvency and a history of providing robust financial and legal support for Florida surgeons.

• The Doctors Company
• MedPro Group
• MAG Mutual
• Coverys Group
• ISMIE

SURGPLI works with MEDPLI to get a wide range of quotes from A-rated carriers, then promptly reviews your options with you to find the best fit.

• Claims Made Insurance
  Provides coverage if the policy is in effect both when the incident took place AND when the claim is filed. You need tail malpractice insurance to cover between policies. First year rate is lower than subsequent years.
• Occurrence Insurance
  Provides coverage for incidents that occurred during the policy year, regardless of when a claim is reported to the carrier. Occurrence policies are more costly at the start of the policy with no increase and no need for tail coverage.
• Tail Insurance
  Tail coverage protects you for a specific time period between a previous policy and a new employer’s policy.

Florida surgeons in high-risk specialties are more vulnerable to medical malpractice claims:

Neurosurgery – Claims relating to laminectomy surgeries (anterior cervical fusion and posterior lumbar fusion).

Bariatric Surgery – Complications of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, including bowel perforation during surgery.

Orthopedic Surgery – Post-operative implant and prosthesis infections; sciatic nerve injury in hip replacements; deep vein thrombosis developing into pulmonary embolism.

OB/GYN Surgery – Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of gynecological cancers; profound brain injuries at birth; misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of fetal distress.

Plastic Surgery –Higher-risk elective cosmetic surgeries, such as the Brazilian Butt Lift; improper management of post-operative complications and infections.

General Surgery – Surgical errors, like wrong-site surgery or foreign item left in the body.

According to the Florida Board of Medicine, maintaining an active license requires:

• Professional liability coverage in an amount not less than $100,000 per claim, with a minimum annual aggregate of not less than $300,000 – or –
• An escrow account consisting of cash or assets eligible for deposit in the per-claim amounts specified above – or –
• A letter of credit in an amount not less than $100,000 per claim, with a minimum aggregate availability of credit of not less than $300,000.

Physicians who perform surgery in an ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter 395 and, as a continuing condition of staff privileges, must establish financial responsibility by one of the following methods:

• Professional liability coverage in an amount not less than $250,000 per claim, with a minimum annual aggregate of not less than $750,000 – or –
• An escrow account consisting of cash or assets eligible for deposit in the per claim amounts specified above – or –
• A letter of credit in an amount not less than $250,000 per claim, with a minimum aggregate availability of credit of not less than $750,000.

Rather than using secured assets to cover claims, SURGPLI’s recommendation is that carrying medical malpractice insurance from an A-rated carrier is the most cost-effective way to protect yourself.

• Most Florida doctors carry malpractice insurance that covers $250,000 per claim / $750,000 aggregate, though surgeons, OB/GYNs, and other physicians seeking higher limits will opt for $1,000,000 per claim / $3,000,000 aggregate.
• The general recommendation for all doctors is to carry coverage at $1,000,000 per claim / $3,000,000 aggregate since it offers robust protection, and health care centers in Florida sometimes require these limits before allowing admitting privileges.

On Friday, March 24, 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 837: Civil Remedies. The tort reforms in this bill focus mainly on statutes of limitations, comparative negligence, and the admissibility of medical bills at trial.

The law enacts a modified comparative negligence approach in medical malpractice lawsuits that prevents the plaintiff from recovering damages if a jury finds the plaintiff more than 50% at fault for their own injury or harm. Also, the admissibility of medical bills at trial allows evidence to show that the plaintiff’s damages more closely reflect the actual amounts paid or allowed for medical services received. (See below for details of changes to Florida’s statutes of limitations.)

In Florida, there is no limit on the amount of compensation a plaintiff can recover for past and future economic damages: medical care necessitated by the malpractice, lost income, lost future earning capacity, and any other measurable economic losses attributable to the defendant’s malpractice.

• Ordinary negligence carries a statute of limitations of two years from the date the harm from the malpractice was discovered or could reasonably have been discovered.
• The statute of limitations might be extended to four years in cases where the injury wasn’t immediately discoverable.
• For cases that involve intentional misrepresentation, concealment, or fraud, the statute of limitations is seven years.
• For minors, the statute of limitations is different. When an action is being brought on behalf of a minor child, a medical malpractice claim may be filed up until the child’s eighth birthday.

Whether you’re an OB/GYN specialist in Jacksonville, a plastic surgeon in Miami, or an orthopedic surgeon in Orlando, we’ll help you obtain coverage from an A-rated carrier.

Get a fast quote for medical malpractice insurance or call 1-800-969-1339

SURGPLI is a division of MEDPLI, an independent insurance brokerage that specializes in making medical malpractice insurance simple for doctors.