In the MDU’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2013, Dr Tomkins said 2013 was the busiest year in the MDU’s 128-year history, with over 33,000 calls from members to its advice line being answered and a “record number of new claims files” opened.
Taken in isolation, the 2013 “record year” represents a disturbing year for the MDU and its actuaries. But whilst 2013 may have been the busiest in the MDU’s 128 history, of greater concern perhaps to its members will be the repeated trend of such claims and the impact this will continue to have on MDU subscription costs.
Summaries taken from the MDU’s Report & Accounts for 2012, 2011 and 2010 (below) highlight the high, year on year claims trend and offers in part, an explanation for the relentless rise in subscription costs.
2012 Report & Accounts
“New claim notifications coming into the department increased by 20% over the previous year, compared with an average 8.6% increase for the four years 2008-2011. Claims against general practitioners and dentists saw a particularly sharp increase. This figure includes cases where the incident occurred in an earlier year but became a claim in 2012.”
2011 Report & Accounts
“The number of active claims files being handled by the claims team has risen considerably. Claims in general practice alone have risen significantly in number for each of the last two years. Our claims handling team opened 17% more medical claims files than in 2010, reflecting significant increases in claims notified by GP members and consultants in independent practice.”
2010 Report & Accounts
“In 2010 the claims team saw a substantial rise in the number of claims coming into the department with a 14.8% increase in medical claims and a 12.3% increase in dental claims. This increase was driven by claims against GPs which increased by 20% compared to last year.”
More News & EventsShare this post:
- - -