In 1975, members of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and Austin attorney Ace Pickens met to discuss how to address the growing number of medical malpractice claims being made in Texas. Premiums for medical liability insurance had increased up to 600 percent and many private insurance companies were abandoning this field of coverage. Hoping to create a fair market for physicians, Pickens suggested adding a self-insurance trust provision to a TMA bill, which passed in the Texas legislature in September 1977.
The following year, the TMA Board of Trustees voted to select Texas Medical Liability Trust as the operating name for the new entity, and TMLT wrote its first policy in 1979. Today, TMLT is the only medical professional liability insurance provider exclusively endorsed by the TMA.
Over the past 43 years, TMA and TMLT have worked together to provide reliable and affordable coverage to its members. TMLT and TMA have also developed education programs, advocated for tort reform, created numerous resources for physicians, and worked together to improve the health of all Texans. As a result of our partnership with TMA, TMLT policyholders receive exclusive benefits such as hundreds of hours of free CME, consulting services, group discounts, and numerous opportunities for professional growth.
