Compare claims-made and occurrence costs.
This tool compares claims-made premiums and tail costs with a user-entered occurrence premium. It uses NORCAL's 2015 California filing.
Claims-made coverage uses its reporting period. Occurrence coverage follows the date of covered care. A tail extends reporting under an expired claims-made policy.
Enter the comparison.
Enter the occurrence premium from a quote. The sources do not support one fixed multiplier for every carrier and physician.
Compare costs for the selected period.
Choose a NORCAL specialty, county, and number of years. Enter an occurrence premium from a quote when available.
filed example: NORCAL 2015 manual
Internal Medicine (No Surgery) in San Mateo County
Territory 2: Fresno; Madera; Monterey; San Mateo; Santa Clara; Santa Cruz
- Mature claims-made
- $6,909
- Tail at exit
- $15,545.25
- Claims-made + tail
- $41,108.55
- Occurrence total
- Enter premium
Over 5 years, claims-made + tail totals $41,108.55; enter an occurrence annual premium to compare the other side.
| Year | Step factor | Claims-made annual | Claims-made cumulative | Occurrence cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 0.35x | $2,418.15 | $2,418.15 | Enter premium |
| Year 2 | 0.65x | $4,490.85 | $6,909 | Enter premium |
| Year 3 | 0.80x | $5,527.20 | $12,436.20 | Enter premium |
| Year 4 | 0.90x | $6,218.10 | $18,654.30 | Enter premium |
| Year 5 | 1.00x | $6,909 | $25,563.30 | Enter premium |
| Tail at exit (2.25x) | $15,545.25 | No tail | ||
| Total | $41,108.55 | Enter premium | ||
Filed factor tables.
These NORCAL tables show every maturity factor and tail factor used by the calculator.
| Maturity | Step factor |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 0.35x |
| Year 2 | 0.65x |
| Year 3 | 0.80x |
| Year 4 | 0.90x |
| Year 5+ / mature | 1.00x |
| Exit maturity | Tail factor |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 0.91x |
| Year 2 | 1.56x |
| Year 3 | 1.97x |
| Year 4 | 2.14x |
| Year 5+ / mature | 2.25x |
Worked examples.
Three five-year Territory 2 examples, computed from the NORCAL rate CSV and filed factors.
| Specialty | Territory | Mature annual | Claims-made years 1-5 | Tail at exit | Claims-made + tail total | Occurrence benchmark | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Medicine (No Surgery) Class 1012 | Territory 2 | $6,909 | $25,563.30 | $15,545.25 | $41,108.55 | User-entered annual premium x 5 | $6,909 x (0.35 + 0.65 + 0.80 + 0.90 + 1.00) + 2.25 x $6,909 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology Class 1090 | Territory 2 | $31,974 | $118,303.80 | $71,941.50 | $190,245.30 | User-entered annual premium x 5 | $31,974 x (0.35 + 0.65 + 0.80 + 0.90 + 1.00) + 2.25 x $31,974 |
| Psychiatry Class 1005 | Territory 2 | $4,778 | $17,678.60 | $10,750.50 | $28,429.10 | User-entered annual premium x 5 | $4,778 x (0.35 + 0.65 + 0.80 + 0.90 + 1.00) + 2.25 x $4,778 |
How the calculation works.
The selected specialty and county locate the filed mature $1M/$3M NORCAL premium. Each year uses the filed maturity factor.
The tool then uses the filed tail factor for the selected exit year. The tables show every factor.
The occurrence total equals the entered annual premium times the selected years. Leave that field blank to view only claims-made costs.
Sources and occurrence input.
The occurrence amount must come from the user. The sources do not establish one reliable multiplier for this model.
Filed-factor citations
- NORCAL rate, step, and tail factors: NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company, California Medical Professional Liability Insurance Underwriting Manual, 08/01/2015 corrected copy, Section III.B.1 Claims-Made Rating Factors, manual p. 7 of 20; CDI filing 14-7766;14-7767 / SERFF NCMC-129678275, approved 2015-09-28.
- NORCAL rate table: same corrected manual, pp. 7-11; public CSV source src/content/data/norcal-ca-rates.csv.
- Tail-factor basis: tail-factors.csv, NORCAL rows, sourced to the same manual and rule I.P.