South Florida is a pretty darn interesting malpractice environment. Because of the cost of malpractice insurance, OB/GYNs and some other specialties there practice 'bare' or without insurance. By state law, you have to have a placard on your office wall informing patients of this.
Here is a snippet from the "Medical Liability Monitor", a trade publication that reports on malpractice insurance. These quoted premiums are for $ 1 million in coverage:
Obstetricians and gynecologists in Los Angeles County paid an average annual medical liability premium of $49,804 in 2010, compared with $196,111 paid by OB/GYNs practicing on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties), New York. OB/GYNs in Dade County, Florida, paid an annual average of $200,3773.
This information is bolstered by the Medical Liability Monitor’s Annual Rate Survey, 2010. The Liability Monitor reported that as of July 1, 2010, OB/GYNs in New York and Florida ranked first and second, respectively, in average annual medical malpractice premiums paid, while OB/GYNs in 10 Central and Northern California counties paid among the nation’s lowest rates.
The Liability Monitor survey found that Long Island OB/GYNs paid an annual average liability premium of $204,864, while OB/GYNs in the 10 California counties paid an annual average of only $13,4004!
In Florida, where the liability cap for non-economic damages is double California’s cap, OB/GYNs in Miami and Dade counties paid an annual average of $201,808, the survey reported.