PRI Insurance Company Review

What you need to know about products, service, and more.
Ann Herro, Insurance Expert Written by Ann Herro
Ann Herro, Insurance Expert
Written by Ann Herro

Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She has covered topics as easy as insuring a car, and as difficult as transparency in healthcare costs.

Updated

PRI Insurance Company at a Glance

  • Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI), including its wholly owned subsidiary, EmPRO Insurance Company, is the third largest admitted medical malpractice insurer in New York State and one of the Top Fifteen insurers in the country
  • The company provides professional liability insurance to physicians and medical facilities
  • Founded in 1982 by doctors to serve the healthcare industry and its professionals

PRI Pros: PRI has decades of experience specializing in serving physicians and other healthcare professionals in New York. Founded by doctors. 

PRI Cons: The company does not offer extended customer service hours. Customer feedback is often negative. 

To find insurance in your state, use our national insurance company directory to find the best company to meet your needs. You can locate insurance companies that specialize in your specific coverage needs and get connected to an agent near you.

What Type of Insurance Does PRI Offer?

PRI offers professional liability insurance solutions for healthcare providers in virtually every discipline, including:

  • Physicians
  • Physician assistants
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Chiropractors
  • Dentists

Medical entity and excess coverage are also available.

What to Know About PRI

Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI), including its wholly owned subsidiary, EmPRO Insurance Company, is the third largest admitted medical malpractice insurer in New York, and is one of the top fifteen insurers in the country providing professional liability insurance to physicians and medical facilities. Founded in 1982 by doctors to serve the healthcare industry and its professionals, PRI continues to be a leader in the industry.

EmPRO provides New York’s medical community with personalized underwriting services, aggressive defense, and effective risk management strategies. The company offers competitive rates and a variety of premium discounts and services. It also provides a state-of-the-art suite of web-based tools, including EmPROConnect, which allows professionals to get quick quotes, submit an electronic application, and more.

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What Discounts Does PRI Offer?

PRI offers a variety of discounts to qualifying medical professionals, including: 

  • New doctor discount
  • Part-time discount
  • Claims free discount
  • Joint defense discount
  • Risk management discount
  • No consent discount
  • Annual pre-pay discount
  • Risk purchasing group discounts

Representatives of PRI can help you learn more about its discount programs and how to be eligible for them.

PRI Customer Service

Here’s what you need to know about PRI’s customer service options:

  • Customer service is available online and by phone, email, and regular mail
  • Social media contact via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
  • Online bill pay
  • Customer service department has the following hour restrictions:


Hours (EST)


Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

PRI FAQ

What is PRI’s average claim response time frame?

PRI does not publish an average claim response time frame. The company states that you will be assigned to a claims specialist and defense attorney (if appropriate), who will keep you informed of case developments, both of whom you are encouraged to contact at any time if you have questions or concerns regarding your case. 

What is PRI’s customer service availability?

PRI offers customer service by phone Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, EST. Customers can also reach the insurance company by phone, fax, email, and via social media. Customers can also access PRI’s eServices center to view policy and coverage information, view billing history and invoices, print certificates of insurance, and more.  

What is PRI’s claims process?

PRI maintains a team of highly trained, experienced, professional medical liability claim specialists, who provide claims assistance for all insured specialties and facilities throughout New York. 

For general inquiries, you can contact the company’s claims handling department. Claims should be reported directly to the claims department via email, phone, or fax. You can also report claims in writing. 

All types of claims or record requests require the completion of an Incident Reporting Form. For record requests, be sure to include with your completed form a copy of your medical and billing records. All materials should then be forwarded to the PRI claims department via mail, email or fax. The form can be downloaded from the PRI website. You can also download a Healthcare Facility Incident Report Form from the PRI website. 

Does PRI create a user-friendly experience for customers?

PRI creates a user-friendly experience. The website features a large selection of information and commonly used downloadable forms. 

What’s more, the company offers programs that are designed to help physicians and other healthcare professionals manage the stress of malpractice litigation and other adverse events. One-to-one peer support and group peer support are designed to give providers forums in which to discuss concerns in a confidential, safe environment. 

PRI customers have access to online educational programs, live seminars and workshops, and in-person access to the company’s experienced risk management faculty. The company also provides a downloadable Loss Prevention Manual for Medical Practices. 

Does PRI have good physician medical malpractice insurance?

PRI/EmPRO offers a variety of coverage options to best serve your medical practice. You can choose either a claims-made policy or an occurrence policy, in addition to the following policy features and options:

  • Claims made policy: Covers claims for incidents that occur while your policy is in effect and are also reported while your policy is in effect.
  • Prior acts coverage (nose coverage): Protects you against claims arising after your former policy has expired. Also called nose coverage, this eliminates the need to purchase tail coverage from your prior carrier.
  • Excess liability coverage: Additional layer of coverage of $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 annual aggregate is available at no cost to the physician if he or she meets the requirements set forth by New York State Department of Financial Services.
  • Direct pay excess coverage: Additional layer of coverage of $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 annual aggregate is available to physicians who do not maintain a Section 18 policy and wish to purchase an excess policy, provided they meet the requirements set forth by PRI.
  • Occurrence policy: Covers claims arising during your policy period irrespective of when the claims are reported.
  • Medical entity coverage (for your PC, LLC, PLLC, or Partnership): Groups can purchase coverage at the entity level for claims arising from the alleged malpractice of practitioners listed on the policy. The policy will also extend coverage to employees such as medical assistants, licensed practical nurses, technicians, and nurses.
  • Administrative action legal representation coverage: Policies include up to $25,000 coverage for fees related to legal representation, subject to certain limitations, in connection with administrative actions brought against the Insured by a government body organized for the purpose of maintaining standards of conduct and competence.

To learn more about PRI/EmPro’s coverage offerings, visit the company’s website or contact a company representative. 

Is PRI a good insurance company?

PRI has decades of experience in healthcare professional liability insurance in New York. The company offers a variety of policy options and resources to fit the needs or different types of medical practitioners and groups in New York. PRI’s customer satisfaction reviews are frequently negative, but overall it you may want to consider it for your medical professional liability needs in New York. 

PRI Customer Reviews

Birdeye
“Double the price of any other insurance company. If you investigate this company (and can read between the lines) you will find out what’s going on. Bottom line is my malpractice was twice as much through them when compared to their competitors. And don’t worry about the "free tail" coverage, the firm you move to will give that to you free. Most of the staff has no idea what you are talking about when you call them. One of the worse businesses I have encountered in my 30 years of practice.”


Birdeye
“Great service. My husband's office uses this company and when he became semi-retired this insurance agent spent a great deal of time getting to know his new status and how that reflects in his annual premium. He saved my husband a deal of money.”


Birdeye
5 Stars
“PRI is by far the best malpractice insurance company. If you are a New York physician and you want a company that really cares about physicians and will fight to defend you I would definitely choose PRI. Most malpractice companies act like they care about physicians but it is really just marketing. PRI is different, the real deal.”


TrustedChoice.com's Final Review

We award PRI a final rating of 2.0 out of 5 stars. To begin with, PRI has decades of experience in the medical liability insurance industry in New York.

The carrier offers numerous policy options and resources depending on the need of the provider specialty or facility. PRI/EmPro seem to be financially stable, but the negative feedback from customers is difficult to ignore.

Medical professionals in New York should consider PRI/EmPro as an option for medical professional liability insurance. But it’s also best to explore your options.

You can also use our national insurance company directory to find the best insurance companies to meet your needs. Locate companies that specialize in your specific coverage needs and get connected to an agent near you.

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