The Doctors Company business insurance

Overview

The Doctors Company is the largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer in the U.S., based in Napa, California. It is a reciprocal exchange owned by its policyholders and managed by an attorney-in-fact, The Doctors Management Company, rather than a stock company with outside shareholders. Its group was ranked No. 56 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.55 billion, based on NAIC market share data. Of that, $1.32 billion was medical professional liability, where it ranks second nationally. Most of the rest is other liability written for healthcare organizations.

The business now operates as TDC Group. Policies are issued by The Doctors Company, an Interinsurance Exchange; The Doctors Company Risk Retention Group; Hospitals Insurance Company in New York; and the surplus lines companies TDC Specialty Insurance Company and TDC National Assurance Company. TDC Specialty Underwriters designs E&S programs, and Healthcare Risk Advisors works with hospitals and self-insured health systems. The Doctors Company Insurance Services is the group's agency for coverages placed with other insurers.

On June 26, 2026, TDC completed its purchase of ProAssurance Corporation. That deal makes it, by trade press accounts, the second-largest U.S. med mal writer behind Berkshire Hathaway's MedPro Group (see Berkshire Hathaway). ProAssurance's 2025 premium is shown separately under ProAssurance because the NAIC data predate the closing. TDC says the combined company protects more than 200,000 healthcare professionals and organizations. Richard E. Anderson, MD, a former oncologist, is chairman and CEO; Robert E. White, Jr. is president.

History

The Doctors Company was founded in 1976 by physicians responding to the medical liability crisis of the 1970s. It grew into a national carrier largely through acquisitions of other doctor-founded insurers. It bought SCPIE Holdings of Los Angeles in a deal that closed June 30, 2008 ($28 a share, about $281 million), and agreed in July 2010 to buy Michigan's American Physicians Capital for about $386 million. FPIC Insurance Group of Florida followed, closing on October 19, 2011, for about $362 million. It started TDC Specialty Underwriters in 2016, and in 2019 acquired New York's Hospitals Insurance Company and set up Healthcare Risk Advisors. Its Tribute Plan, a career-end reward for loyal members, began in 2007.

The ProAssurance acquisition. TDC announced an agreement to buy ProAssurance, the Birmingham, Alabama, specialty insurer, on March 19, 2025, for $25.00 a share in cash. That price valued the company at about $1.3 billion, a premium of roughly 60% over the prior day's close. ProAssurance shareholders approved the deal in June 2025. After regulatory approvals, it closed on June 26, 2026, and ProAssurance's stock was delisted from the NYSE. ProAssurance writes medical liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences companies, and workers' compensation. It now runs as a wholly owned subsidiary, keeping its name and website, while TDC reviews the long-term structure.

TDC says it is not planning broad repricing or re-underwriting of ProAssurance business. Existing ProAssurance policies remain in force, renewal processes are unchanged for now, and workers' comp processes have not changed. For what an ownership change can mean for your policy, see when your insurer is sold or merges: what happens to your policy.

Business insurance products

Medical professional liability. Malpractice coverage for physicians, surgeons and groups, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, CRNAs, certified nurse-midwives and telehealth practices. Notable features published by TDC:

• A promise not to settle a claim without the insured's written consent, subject to policy terms and state law.
• Free tail coverage for qualified members who retire from medicine, become disabled or die (see tail coverage and extended reporting periods).
• MediGuard, included in the malpractice policy, which pays for legal representation in licensing board, Medicare/Medicaid, credentialing, EMTALA and DEA proceedings.
• CyberGuard coverage for data breaches.

Hospitals, facilities and specialty. For hospitals and health systems, TDC offers traditional primary policies, risk-sharing structures and alternative risk programs. TDC Specialty Underwriters writes E&S liability for hospitals, medical and long-term care facilities, managed care organizations, physician groups, life sciences companies and healthcare management liability. TDC Group also fronts for captives, takes on outlier risks and retirement tail, and can run off captive programs.

Practice coverages. D&O, EPLI, E&O, property and general liability, health and disability, and workers' comp for medical practices are placed through The Doctors Company Insurance Services with insurers other than TDC.

Who it insures

Healthcare, from a solo practitioner to an academic medical center. TDC reports more than 175,000 members and insureds in its own companies, before ProAssurance, and says it works with many of the nation's top 100 health systems. Physicians and surgeons are the core, with dedicated products for dentists and advanced practice clinicians. TDC also publishes specialty risk reviews and closed-claims studies for fields such as orthopedics, psychiatry, plastic surgery and dentistry. A number of medical organizations endorse or sponsor it as their liability carrier.

Underwriting is specialty-driven: TDC notes that surgeons, emergency physicians and anesthesiologists have different coverage needs from primary care physicians. In June 2026 it issued quoting guidelines for practices being acquired by private equity firms or management services organizations. See medical malpractice insurance for physicians and practices for how specialty, limits and claims history drive price.

How to buy

Physicians, dentists and advanced practice clinicians can start a quote online at thedoctors.com, email the sales team, or use the site's find-an-agent tool. Groups, hospitals and E&S risks usually come through brokers; E&S coverage must be placed by a licensed surplus lines broker. ProAssurance-appointed brokers keep submitting admitted MPL business to ProAssurance. Brokers with dual appointments pick one company per submission, and the two companies will not quote against each other. Members manage policies, payments, Tribute balances and credentialing or loss run requests through an online account.

Claims

Report a claim or a potential claim as soon as you know of it: a threat of suit, an attorney's letter or 90-day notice, a subpoena or a deposition request. TDC also wants notice of any treatment outcome that could lead to a claim. File online through your member account, or call 800-421-2368, option 3. TDC says initial notice must be in writing, and a conversation with a patient safety risk manager does not count as notice. Under a claims-made form, late notice can cost you coverage. MediGuard and CyberGuard matters have separate claim forms. Claims reporting and patient safety help are available 24/7. TDC says its defense attorneys are known for aggressive trial strategy, and insureds get case updates quarterly or when significant events occur.

Financial strength and ratings

On October 2, 2025, AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a+" issuer credit rating of The Doctors Company and its core subsidiaries and revised the outlooks to positive, citing TDC's record of integrating acquisitions. On July 7, 2026, after the ProAssurance closing, Fitch affirmed its A (Strong) insurer financial strength ratings with a stable outlook. Fitch pointed to very strong capital, stable underwriting and favorable reserve development. TDC says its combined ratio has been below 100% for four consecutive years.

Before the acquisition TDC reported $8.4 billion of assets and $3.4 billion of member surplus. The combined group now reports about $12 billion of assets and more than $2.5 billion of direct written premium. TDC was named to the 2026 Ward's 50 list of top-performing property-casualty insurers. The Tribute Plan has paid more than $200 million to more than 15,000 members since 2007, funded from TDC's capital rather than premiums.

Strengths and weaknesses

TDC combines physician ownership, scale and a defense-first claims philosophy. Its near-term challenge is absorbing ProAssurance without disrupting service for either book.

• Strengths: Physician-owned reciprocal with $3.4 billion of member surplus before the deal, rated A by AM Best (positive outlook since October 2025) and Fitch. Consent-to-settle, free retirement tail and the Tribute Plan, which pays retiring members who are 55 or older after five continuous years. Coverage across the continuum of care, with admitted, RRG and E&S paper and captive solutions.
• Weaknesses: Ratings are A, not A+, despite the large surplus. Integration of ProAssurance is in progress, with separate appointments, systems and contacts for now. Practice coverages outside malpractice are brokered to other insurers, not written by TDC. Tribute rewards require staying insured with TDC, which makes switching carriers more costly.

How to contact The Doctors Company