Heffernan vs Usi: Medical Malpractice Insurance

Both are brokers for healthcare organizations: Heffernan Insurance Brokers also offers captive and self-insured plans, while USI Insurance Services cites a case study where a physician group's loss-history review produced about $350,000 in savings.

Kearny Risk organizes these comparisons for firms whose advice, content or technology creates professional exposures.Research updated 2026-09-25

Both broker malpractice rather than insure it; USI shows how it reprices large physician groups, citing about $350,000 in savings from a 26-year loss review. Heffernan suits clinics, labs and senior-living operators that want malpractice, workers’ comp and cyber in one captive or self-insured program.

What Are the Key Differences Between Heffernan Insurance Brokers and USI Insurance Services Medical Malpractice Insurance?

Evidence of Repricing a Large Physician Group

USI is the only one of the two that publishes malpractice results: its healthcare team reviewed a 220-physician group’s losses, found an outdated limit structure, and projected close to $1,000,000 a year in premium cuts from a retention change. Heffernan’s reviewed page gives no comparable malpractice outcome, only a claim of experience with nonprofit healthcare organizations. Choose USI if you run a large physician group that suspects it is overpaying; choose Heffernan if you are a smaller clinic, lab or home-care operator wanting several lines managed as one program. [6] [2]

Alternative Funding Options

Heffernan offers captive, partially self-insured and fully self-insured structures. USI reaches captives too, and adds risk retention groups and risk purchasing groups, which pool malpractice risk with similar providers. If a pooled program could lower your cost, USI documents more routes. [2] [6]

Facilities Each Names

USI lists surgery centers, dialysis clinics, residential treatment, locum tenens staffing, urgent care and managed care. Heffernan lists patient transport, laboratories, allied health and home care. Both name hospitals, physician groups and senior living, so check which list matches your operation. [6] [2]

What Should You Confirm in Heffernan Insurance Brokers and USI Insurance Services Medical Malpractice Insurance Quotes?

  • Ask both which insurer, captive or pooled group would carry your risk; neither names a malpractice carrier. [2] [6]
  • Ask USI whether a multi-year loss review is part of your engagement. [6]
  • Ask Heffernan which of workers’ compensation, professional liability and cyber it would place alongside malpractice. [2]

Areas of coverage

Heffernan Insurance Brokers

  • role: Heffernan lists Medical Malpractice (Med Mal) as one of its named healthcare service specialties, placing coverage with carriers for health care clients rather than underwriting it. Healthcare Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; no dedicated medical-malpractice sub-page was found beyond this healthcare practice page.company-reportedSource ↗
  • eligibility: Heffernan says its health care risk-management team serves physician groups, clinics, hospitals, patient transport companies, and laboratories, plus specialty practices in allied health, home care, and senior living. Healthcare Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; not exclusively medical-malpractice-specific, but names the buyer types the practice serves.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: Heffernan says it packages medical malpractice with other healthcare coverages such as workers' compensation, professional liability, and cyber liability for a single client program. Healthcare Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; the page does not describe medical-malpractice insuring agreements, claims-made versus occurrence form, or limits separately from the bundled list.company-reportedSource ↗
  • insurer: Heffernan says it has relationships with 'the nation's top insurance carriers' for a fully insured healthcare plan, but the reviewed page does not name a specific medical-malpractice insurer. Healthcare Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23.not-disclosedSource ↗
  • services: Beyond fully insured placements, Heffernan offers healthcare clients captive, partially self-insured, or fully self-insured plan structures, and says it has experience serving nonprofit health care organizations. Healthcare Insurance page as read on 2026-09-23; described for the healthcare practice generally, not exclusively for medical malpractice.company-reportedSource ↗

USI Insurance Services

  • role: USI is a broker for medical malpractice coverage. Its Healthcare practice advises clients on risk and places medical professional liability coverage rather than underwriting it. Healthcare practice page.company-reportedSource ↗
  • insurer: The Healthcare practice page does not name a specific medical malpractice insurer; it says USI has access to both traditional and nontraditional risk-transfer structures, including captives, risk retention groups and risk purchasing groups, without naming a carrier for any of them. Page as read on 2026-09-23.not-disclosedSource ↗
  • eligibility: USI's Healthcare practice says it serves hospitals, physicians, surgery centers, dialysis clinics, senior care and assisted-living facilities, residential treatment facilities, permanent and locum tenens staffing companies, urgent care centers and managed care organizations, ranging from regional health systems to individual doctor groups and clinics. Company description of client base, not a guaranteed underwriting appetite.company-reportedSource ↗
  • coverage: USI lists Medical Professional (Malpractice) Liability alongside related healthcare specialty coverages it places, including healthcare general liability, D&O, healthcare facility property, workers' compensation, employment practices liability, cyber liability and HIPAA privacy, medical billing and governmental regulatory claims coverage, and required bonding. Catalogue of practice offerings; specific insuring agreements, exclusions and limits are set by the issued policy.company-reportedSource ↗
  • services: USI cites a case study where its Healthcare team reviewed 26 years of a 220-physician group's malpractice loss history, found the client was overpriced with an outdated limit structure, and says the analysis produced about $350,000 in negotiated savings plus a retention-funding change projected to cut premium by close to $1,000,000 in a year. Single named case study; company-reported outcome, not independently verified, and not necessarily representative of every account.company-reportedSource ↗
  • application: USI directs healthcare organizations to email pcinquiries@usi.com or contact a local USI office to engage its Healthcare practice. Contact instructions on the Healthcare practice page.company-reportedSource ↗

Sources reviewed

  1. 01
    Physicians Medical Professional Liability — Specimen Policy

    Curi underwriting companies identified on specimen cover · Base I–III printed pp.1–3/PDF pp.2–4; V–VI pp.3–6; VIII p.7; XII pp.11–13 · accessed 2026-09-16

  2. 02
    Healthcare Insurance for Health Care Services

    Heffernan Insurance Brokers · Healthcare Services: Allied Health & Specialty Centers, Home Care Agencies, Medical Malpractice (Med Mal), Senior Living Communities; from physician groups, clinics, and hospitals to patient transport companies and laboratories; if you'd like a fully insured plan, we have relationships with the nation's top insurance carriers; explore captive, partially-self-insured or fully-self-insured plans; dovetail all the coverages you need — from workers' compensation to professional liability, cyber liability and more · accessed 2026-09-23

  3. 03
    Physician Application

    MedPro Group / issuing companies identified on application · I–II p.1; III pp.2–4; IV pp.4–5; V pp.5–6; VI p.6 · accessed 2026-09-16

  4. 04
    Medical Malpractice Insurance

    National Association of Insurance Commissioners · Background: Issue; Overview; two basic types · accessed 2026-09-16

  5. 05
    Medical Liability Insurance shopping guide

    Texas Department of Insurance · What is medical liability insurance?; Claims-made versus occurrence; changing carriers; renewal tips · accessed 2026-09-16

  6. 06
    Healthcare

    USI Insurance Services · USI's Healthcare Practice addresses risk exposures...for organizations associated with the healthcare industry...; serves hospitals, physicians, surgery centers, dialysis clinics, senior care/assisted living facilities...; offers specialty coverages...including: Medical Professional (Malpractice) Liability...; captives, risk retention groups and risk purchasing groups; ACO Shield...CHC Shield...; CASE STUDY: USI's Healthcare Review of Loss History Records · accessed 2026-09-23

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