# In the media: patient insurance at Patient Safety Day (2025)

URL: https://insurancelawestonia.ee/blog/2025-09-18-media-patient-safety-day/
Author: Dr Olavi-Jüri Luik, Partner, Head of Insurance Law, attorney at law (Advokaadibüroo WIDEN OÜ)
Published: 2025-09-18
Last updated: 2026-11-04

> WIDEN 2025: Olavi-Jüri Luik on the first months of Estonian patient insurance, under-reporting of medical errors and compensation levels.

> **Original:** "Vandeadvokaat Olavi-Jüri Luik kõneles Patsiendiohutuspäeval patsiendikindlustusest", WIDEN, 18 September 2025. [Read on WIDEN's website](https://widen.legal/news-events/vandeadvokaat-olavi-juri-luik-koneles-patsiendiohutuspaeval-patsiendikindlustusest/)

*Date note: the date of this post (18 September 2025) is the date of the original publication. This English summary was written for this website in 2026.*

At Patient Safety Day on 16 September 2025, organised by the Estonian Chamber of Disabled People, Olavi-Jüri Luik gave a talk titled "The road to insurance: patient insurance and healthcare professionals' compulsory liability insurance".

## Key points

Estonia records far fewer formal complaints about medical errors than the Nordic countries. In Luik's view this reflects under-reporting rather than fewer errors. Patient insurance shifts the focus from finding fault to compensating harm, creating better conditions for open discussion of errors. According to WIDEN's report, more than 260 claims had been filed since the act took effect, dozens had been accepted as insured events, the average payment was about EUR 3,400 and the largest exceeded EUR 13,000.

## Why it matters

Full first-year figures are analysed in [Patient insurance in Estonia: lessons from the first year](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/blog/2025-10-13-patient-insurance-estonia-first-year). For insurers and reinsurers, the claims frequency and severity of a young compulsory line are key pricing inputs, and the consistency of conciliation committee decisions will shape its development.

## Related pages

- [Patient insurance in Estonia](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/guides/patient-insurance-estonia)
- [Patient insurance: annotated commentary (2024)](https://insurancelawestonia.ee/blog/2024-07-01-research-patient-insurance-commentary)