California market
Four carriers place San Diego County in different rate groups.
Each carrier assigns San Diego County to its own territory. The territory and specialty class affect the filed base rate.
Compare four carrier territory systems
Each carrier assigns San Diego County inside its own filed territory system.
| Carrier | San Diego County treatment | Counties in the same filed group | Filing record |
|---|---|---|---|
| TDC | Territory C | Imperial; San Diego | The Doctors Company, California Rate Pages, Edition 10/14, p. CA-R-1; CDI filing DCTR-129531290, approved 2014-08-07 |
| MedPro | Area 2 | Imperial; Kern; San Diego; Ventura | MedPro SR-CA-III-4 / RT-CA, Edition 07/01/13; CDI filing 13-3635 / SERFF MDPC-129010877, approved 2013-08-07 |
| NORCAL | Territory 3 | San Diego; Imperial; San Luis Obispo; Santa Barbara | NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company, California Medical Professional Liability Insurance Underwriting Manual, 08/01/2015 (corrected copy), pp. 7-11; CDI filing 14-7766;14-7767 / SERFF NCMC-129678275, approved 2015-09-28 |
| MIEC | 1.500 relativity | San Diego; Ventura | Medical Insurance Exchange of California, Countrywide Underwriting Manual - HPL (Rev 2-1-2023) with California State Exception Pages; CDI filing 20-4143 / SERFF PERR-132594120, approved 2023-02-07, effective 2023-02-01 |
Filed base rates for ten specialties
The values use mature claims-made rates at $1 million per claim and $3 million annual aggregate. MIEC values are calculated from its filed formula. The other values come from the mapped manual rows.
| Specialty | TDC | MedPro | NORCAL | MIEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | $9,730 | $12,335 | $9,492 | $10,810.50 |
| Family Practice (No Surgery) | $7,447 | $10,315 | $10,098 | $10,810.50 |
| Psychiatry | $4,712 | $7,175 | $6,564 | $4,324.20 |
| Anesthesiology | $10,472 | $13,008 | $11,108 | $15,134.70 |
| Emergency Medicine | $19,993 | $26,910 | $19,186 | $24,323.62 |
| General Surgery | $35,273 | $37,675 | $33,626 | $38,917.80 |
| Obstetrics & Gynecology | $41,128 | $44,850 | $43,927 | $51,349.88 |
| Orthopedic Surgery | $28,342 | $26,910 | $31,809 | $32,431.50 |
| Plastic Surgery | $23,641 | $26,910 | $26,760 | $38,917.80 |
| Neurosurgery | $55,364 | $62,790 | $62,608 | $102,699.75 |
The full comparison also lists the class mapping, manual date, and filing reference.
California Department of Insurance filings 14-4043, 13-3635, 14-7766/14-7767, and 20-4143 use different labels for San Diego County. The Doctors Company uses Territory C. MedPro uses Area 2. NORCAL uses Territory 3. MIEC applies the geographic rate multiplier for its San Diego and Ventura group.
A territory is a geographic rating group in one carrier manual. Territory C in one manual is not equal to Territory 3 in another manual. Compare the dollar rates, not the territory numbers.
The specialty class is a separate rating input. A psychiatrist, family physician, anesthesiologist, and obstetrician can have different base rates at the same address. Use the class that describes the physician's actual work.
Every work location can change eligibility and policy terms
Applications and policy notice provisions can require every place where the physician provides care. The location record should include:
- Main and satellite offices.
- Hospitals and medical groups.
- Ambulatory surgery centers and endoscopy centers.
- Accredited outpatient surgery settings.
- Skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and long-term care facilities.
- Patient homes and mobile locations.
- Telehealth work in every patient state.
- Call coverage at other facilities.
The mailing address can set the primary territory. Other locations can affect eligibility, classification, endorsements, and premium.
Use the legal name of each facility. A medical campus can include a hospital, surgery center, clinic, and physician group. These operations can have different legal names and insurance policies.
The California Department of Health Care Access and Information provides a Facility Finder. The Medical Board of California also publishes information about outpatient surgery settings. Use these records with the contract and certificate of insurance.
Use the county for the territory
San Diego, La Jolla, Chula Vista, National City, Coronado, El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee, Poway, Escondido, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Fallbrook are in San Diego County. The four manuals on this page do not use separate physician territories for these cities.
A move between two San Diego County cities can keep the same territory. The move can still affect the policy. Check the application and policy notice terms for a new address, lease, procedure room, device, entity, or clinical team before work begins.
Compare San Diego County with Imperial County
The Doctors Company, MedPro, and NORCAL place San Diego and Imperial counties in the same listed territory. MIEC does not. MIEC applies a 1.500 geographic rate multiplier to San Diego and Ventura. Imperial County remains in its 1.000 group.
An Imperial County assignment is still a new work location. Disclose the address, facility, duties, contract, and first work date when the application or policy requires them. The Imperial County guide shows the four territory assignments.
Describe each part of the practice
A physician can work in several practice settings during one week. Describe each setting separately.
Hospital and group work
The hospital-work record should connect the employer, billing entity, hospitals, call duties, and procedures with the policy that names the physician. It should also show whether the physician shares limits with the group or other clinicians.
List moonlighting, locum tenens work, and outside contracts separately. Employer coverage might apply only to assigned work.
Independent office practice
The independent-practice record should connect the professional entity, clinicians, and locations with its office procedures, pathology, imaging, infusion, laboratory services, supervision duties, and telehealth work.
Do not use only a general term such as "office practice." A comparable submission describes the services that can change the class or policy terms.
Surgery and procedure facilities
The facility record must distinguish the owner, staff employer, anesthesia provider, and facility insurer. A physician ownership interest also belongs in that record.
California requires some outpatient surgery under anesthesia to occur in an accredited, licensed, or certified setting. Keep the facility record with the insurance application.
Plastic surgery and aesthetics
The aesthetics submission must connect each surgeon, supervising physician, injector, drug, device, procedure, and location with the medical practice. A management company, retail company, or property entity remains a separate operation even when it shares the brand.
These details can change the carrier class and eligibility. Check the policy's notice and approval terms before the practice starts a new service.
Check policy requirements before work begins
Review the policy's notice and approval terms before the practice:
- Opens or closes an office.
- Adds hospital privileges or call duties.
- Starts work at a surgery or endoscopy center.
- Adds mobile, home-based, event, or telehealth work.
- Adds an Imperial County or out-of-state location.
- Moves procedures from a hospital to an office.
- Adds anesthesia, recovery, imaging, pathology, or laboratory work.
- Changes the entity that owns, leases, bills, or employs.
When disclosure is required, provide the legal address, first work date, services, clinicians, facility relationship, and entity. Depending on the policy, evidence may be an issued policy, endorsement, or written confirmation tied to the applicable form.
Every San Diego quote needs the carrier's territory and the physician's class
The Doctors Company, MedPro, NORCAL, and MIEC use different San Diego territory labels. The quote must pair the correct carrier territory with the physician's disclosed procedures, facilities, entities, limits, retroactive date, and policy form before the premium can be compared with filed data.