§ 8.01-581.15:1.Medical malpractice information disclosures.
Chapter 21.1. Medical Malpractice · Article 2. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 2026 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires medical malpractice insurers and self-insured health care entities to report detailed, aggregated data on premiums, claims, and payouts — including any verdicts that exceeded the statutory damages cap — to the Bureau of Insurance each year, so the General Assembly can evaluate the cap framework, with the reporting duty sunsetting once lawmakers set a new cap.
A.Every insurer issuing medical malpractice liability insurance policies covering health care providers in the Commonwealth shall disclose, for the preceding calendar year, information regarding (i) premiums, including total premiums written in the Commonwealth, the number of insured providers, the identity of the named insureds under such policies, the average and median premium per insured provider, investment or interest income attributable to such line of coverage, if maintained separately in the ordinary course of business, and any dividends, premium refunds, premium credits, surplus distributions, or other return of premiums paid or credited to policyholders or members, including the average amount of such payments per insured provider, and such premium information shall be categorized by medical specialty and type of insured entity, including independent physician practices, hospital- employed physicians, academic medical centers, and such other categories as reasonably reflect underwriting classifications used by insurers; (ii) claims activity, specifically the number of claims reported, lawsuits filed, claims settled, claims dismissed, claims tried to verdict, defense verdicts returned, and the average plaintiff verdict amount; (iii) claim payments and litigation costs, specifically the total indemnity paid, total defense and litigation expenses incurred, the average defense cost per closed claim, and the medical malpractice loss ratio, defined for the purposes of this section as the ratio of total indemnity payments and defense and litigation payments, reserves, and actuarially
determined but not reported claims to earned premium for such coverage; and (iv) insurer financial condition, including the total surplus held by insurers writing medical malpractice liability insurance in the Commonwealth.
B.Every medical care facility, as defined in § 32.1-3, or other health care provider that maintains self-insurance, captive insurance, risk retention arrangements, or other retained financial risk for medical malpractice liability shall disclose information regarding (i) the number of physicians and health care providers covered under the malpractice liability program; (ii) claims activity, including claims made, lawsuits filed, claims settled, claims tried to verdict, defense verdicts returned, and the average plaintiff verdict amount; and (iii) malpractice expenditures, including total indemnity paid, total defense and litigation expenses, administrative costs of the malpractice liability program, reserves for pending claims, and premiums paid for excess insurance or reinsurance coverage. For purposes of this subsection, a health care provider shall not be required to make any report of information already included in a report submitted pursuant to this subsection by a person or entity providing self-insurance, captive insurance, risk retention arrangements, or other retained financial risk for the medical malpractice liability of the health care provider.
C.Each entity required to disclose information pursuant to subsections A and B shall provide a list of verdicts during the reporting year in medical malpractice actions in the Commonwealth in which the jury verdict exceeded the limitation on recovery established pursuant to § 8.01-581.15. Such list shall include (i) the verdict amount, (ii) the amount recoverable after the application of the limitation on recovery established pursuant to § 8.01-581.15, and (iii) the year in which the cause of action began to accrue. No personally identifiable information of any individual involved in such an action shall be disclosed in such a list.
D.The disclosures and information required to be provided pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be submitted to the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance (the Bureau) in a uniform format prescribed by the Bureau. Where possible, the Bureau shall develop the uniform format consistent with the reporting requirements set forth in § 38.2-2228.2. The initial disclosure shall be submitted on or before October 1, 2026, for the 2025 calendar year, and subsequent disclosures and information shall be submitted on or before March 31 of each year thereafter for the preceding calendar year. The Bureau shall include in its report aggregate summaries of such information and, to the extent practicable, shall present such data in a manner that allows comparison among health care providers by size, region, or type of facility. The Bureau shall utilize anonymized or de-identified formats to facilitate comparison, provided that no individual health care provider is identified and that, to the extent practicable, no information is presented that reasonably could be expected to reveal the identity of any individual health care provider, in any public report.
E.The disclosures and information required to be provided pursuant to this section shall be provided in aggregate form that does not allow identification of any individual physician, hospital, insurer, patient, or specific claim and shall be reported in the form maintained in the ordinary course of business by such entity and certified as accurate and complete by an officer of the reporting entity.
F.The disclosures and information submitted may contain information that the entities required to disclose consider confidential proprietary information. Such confidential proprietary information shall be excluded from, and the State Corporation Commission shall not be subject to, subpoena or public inspection with respect to such information if the entity required to disclose (i) invokes such exclusion, in writing, upon submission of the data or other materials for which protection from disclosure is sought; (ii) identified the data or other material for which protection is sought; and (iii) states the reason why protection is necessary.
G.The Bureau shall compile and analyze the information submitted pursuant to this section and shall prepare a report summarizing such information in aggregate form. The report shall not identify any individual physician, hospital, insurer, patient, or specific claim. The Bureau shall submit the report to the Chairs of the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice and to the ranking members of the minority party serving on such committees and shall make the report publicly available on the General Assembly's website as soon as practicable after receipt of the required disclosures. The report shall also include disclaimer language stating
that the report shall be used to inform evaluation of the medical malpractice damages cap framework and other related policy considerations.
H.The provisions of this section shall expire upon the effective date of any act of the General Assembly establishing a new limitation on recovery for medical malpractice actions pursuant to § 8.01-581.15.
Plain-English Summary
This section creates a data pipeline feeding directly back into the debate over the damages cap in § 8.01-581.15. Subsection A requires every insurer writing medical malpractice liability policies in Virginia to disclose, for the preceding year, detailed premium data, claims activity, indemnity and defense costs, and overall financial condition, broken out by medical specialty and type of insured entity. Subsection B imposes a parallel duty on self-insured medical care facilities and other health care providers that retain their own malpractice risk, though it spares them from duplicating a report an insurer or captive-insurance entity has already filed on their behalf.
Subsection C is the piece that ties directly back to the cap: every reporting entity must also list the verdicts from the reporting year that exceeded the § 8.01-581.15 limitation on recovery, showing the original verdict amount, the amount recoverable after the cap was applied, and the year the underlying cause of action accrued — all without identifying any individual involved in the case.
The mechanics run through the State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance, which prescribes a uniform reporting format, aligned where possible with the format used under § 38.2-2228.2. The first disclosure is due by October 1, 2026, covering the 2025 calendar year, with subsequent reports due every March 31 for the prior year. The Bureau compiles the data into an aggregate, de-identified report for the General Assembly’s Courts of Justice committees, made public on the General Assembly’s website, and the statute itself notes that the report is meant to inform evaluation of the damages cap framework. Confidential proprietary data can be shielded from subpoena and public inspection if the reporting entity properly invokes that protection. And this whole reporting regime has a built-in expiration date: it sunsets once the General Assembly enacts a new limitation on recovery under § 8.01-581.15.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to file disclosures under this section?
Insurers issuing medical malpractice liability policies in Virginia, and medical care facilities or other health care providers that self-insure, use captive insurance, or otherwise retain their own malpractice liability risk.
What must be reported about verdicts that exceeded the damages cap?
The verdict amount, the amount recoverable after applying the § 8.01-581.15 limitation on recovery, and the year the cause of action began to accrue — without disclosing any personally identifiable information.
When is the first disclosure due, and what is the ongoing schedule?
The initial disclosure is due on or before October 1, 2026, covering the 2025 calendar year; after that, disclosures are due by March 31 of each year for the preceding calendar year.
Can a reporting entity keep proprietary data confidential?
Yes, if it invokes the exclusion in writing when submitting the data, identifies the material for which protection is sought, and states why protection is necessary; that information is then shielded from subpoena and public inspection.
When does this reporting requirement stop applying?
It expires upon the effective date of any act of the General Assembly establishing a new limitation on recovery for medical malpractice actions under § 8.01-581.15.
Amendment History
2026, c. 1015.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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