experience rating /ikspir″ē·əns/ [L, experientia, testing, rata, proportion] , a system used by insurance companies in the United States to set the premium to be paid by the insured on the basis of the risk to the company of providing the insurance. Experience rating may lead to very high malpractice premiums in some medical specialties, for the insurance company calculates the premium on the basis of settlements made in related malpractice cases during a specified period. Experience rating is also used to set annual membership health maintenance fees in organizations in which the cost of providing the services in a previous accounting period is used to determine the premiums for the next fiscal year.
