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Ohio Ranks 10th in Insurance Losses to Disasters.
According to the Insurance Service Office, Ohio had the 10th highest damages from disasters during the last decade. According to the article Ohio incurred $4.1billion in losses from severe weather from 2001 - 2010. Damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes accounted for 62% of all claims. In contrast the state of Michigan recorded losses totalling $1.08 billion. To read the full text of the article please click here.
Facts on Earthquake Insurance
Insure.com - Possibly the most important thing to know about earthquake insurance is this: A basic homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage. Even if you don't live in an area where earthquakes are common, it's possible you might need earthquake insurance.
Earthquakes have occurred in 39 states since 1900, and about 90% of Americans live in areas considered seismically active. Yet only a small percentage of people purchase earthquake insurance. To read more click here.
McManamon Insurance is able to provide earthquake coverage to homeowners in Ohio. In most cases McManamon Insurance is able to add this very important, yet overlooked coverage, directly onto your current homeowners policy. Please contact our office to learn more.
Travelers Insurance Announces the launch Auto Accident Assistance app for iPhone and Blackberry Smartphones.
Auto Accident Help on iPhone. Designed for both Travelers' customers and non-customers who have just been in an auto accident, the Auto Accident Help app for is available through iTunes as a free download. Accident Help is a guide that walks consumers through the steps to take when they are in an accident, and enables users to create and email an accident report, including guidance on what photos to take and what information to record. Additionally, Travelers' customers have the added advantage of starting an auto claim process directly through this application. To read the full press release click here.
For a quick reference guide on the application please click here.
Department Issues Fourth Annual
Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Department of Insurance has issued its fourth annual Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report, Director Mary Jo Hudson announced. Data collected from entities providing medical professional liability coverage to Ohio health care providers and health care facilities shows a total of 3,080 medical professional liability claims were closed in 2008. Claims that generated an indemnity payment, which is the amount of compensation paid on behalf of each defendant to a claimant, averaged $252,522 per closed claim.
Ohio law requires all entities that provide medical professional liability insurance in Ohio - including authorized insurers, surplus lines insurers, risk retention groups and self-insurers - to annually report closed claim data to the Department. Claims are reported to the Department and included in analysis based on the year in which they reach final outcome. The specific data filed by each reporting entity is confidential and is not subject to public record requests. The Department is required to prepare an annual report summarizing the closed claims on a statewide basis.
Click here to read the report.
Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities Malpractice Insurance Now Offered by Medical Protective
February 2, 2010
MedPro now offers coverage for Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, including Physical, Occupational, Cardiac, Speech and other Therapy Facilities!
Coverage Advantages Include:
- Occurrence, Claims-made, or conversion from claims-made to occurrence
- Incident-senstive trigger.
- Unlimited length of reporting endorsement.
- Coverage for medical directors.
- Consent to Settle clause for first-named insureds with no hammer clause!
MedPro is open for facility business in all states except New York, West Virginian, Hawaii and Alaska.
To receive a quote we can provide you with premium indications based on competitors' applications combined with currently-valued loss runs.
Call McManamon Insurance to obtain your quote at 866.892.8306 or click here to complete the online quote form.
Medical Protective Risk Management Courses Now Available.
February 1, 2010
Medical Protective is an industry leader in providing risk management education services for our insured physicians. One of there curriculum approaches consists of seminar presentation combined with home study follow-up. On behalf of their Clinical Risk Management Team, I have included a sample of the cover letter and brochure being sent to physicians in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio announcing the 2010 spring risk management seminar schedule. (The brochure has 2 sides, so when you open the file of the brochure, you will need to scroll down to see the second page.)
As noted in the letter and brochure, premium credits are applied to begin with the doctor’s next policy year. (They are not applied to the current policy period.) Doctors are advised to submit their tests at least four weeks prior to the policy renewal date for which they would like the credit to begin. (In accordance with state filings, risk management credits cannot be applied to “FTE” or shared limit policies. Also, risk management premium credits are not applied to Corporate policies, only to a participating doctor's individual policy.) Completion of a risk management course does not imply or guarantee renewal.
For physicians who cannot attend the seminar, we have several home study course options that doctors can participate in to earn the premium credit. The courses are available as textbooks and as on-line courses. Please see the brochures below for more information.
IN KY OH MD Spring 2010 Brochure
MD Option Brochure with Order form 2010
The Doctors Company Protects Members from Fastest Growing Practice Threat with New CyberGuard Liability Insurance.
Members Benefit from Broad New Protections for Online Practice, Privacy, and Security Risks
Napa, California—January 19, 2010—The Doctors Company, the largest national insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability in the U.S., became the first insurer to add CyberGuard for its members, extending the industry’s most relentless medical liability insurance to cover an emerging threat to medical practices—privacy and data security.
Reports of data breaches and accidental releases of sensitive medical or financial information are increasing. And, as more physicians manage an ever-growing volume of high-value data for patients, their exposure to potential risk is elevated as well.
“This unprecedented coverage for physicians is the latest example of our commitment to protect our members and help them address the ever-increasing demands of modern medical practice,” said Richard E. Anderson MD, FACP, chairman and CEO. “Our unwavering dedication to defend, protect and reward physicians in the practice of good medicine requires that we respond to emerging risks on their behalf.”
Beginning January 1, 2010, The Doctors Company has added the CyberGuard coverage enhancement for solo and small group members as protection against claims arising from the theft, loss, or accidental transmission of patient information. In addition, specific coverage in CyberGuard includes costs associated with the defense of a Red Flag Violation, HIPAA or government investigation, fines, patient notification and credit monitoring costs for affected persons. It also includes coverage for both online and offline information, virus attacks, identity theft, and costs of data recovery.
Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Curbs Would Save Billions, Congressional Study Finds.
Insurance Journal, October 12, 2009
Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits would lead doctors to order up fewer unneeded tests and save taxpayers billions more than previously thought, budget umpires for Congress said in a reversal that puts the issue back in the middle of the health care debate.
The latest analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that government health care programs could save $41 billion over ten years if nationwide limits on jury awards for pain and suffering and other similar curbs were enacted. Those savings are nearly ten times greater than CBO estimated just last year.
"Recent research has provided additional evidence that lowering the cost of medical malpractice tends to reduce the use of health care services," CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf wrote lawmakers, explaining the agency's shift. Previously, CBO had ruled that any savings would be limited to lower malpractice insurance premiums for doctors, saying there wasn't clear evidence physicians would also change their approach to treatment.
Finance Committee Finishing Its Work
NAHU Washington Update, October 2, 2009
This week, all eyes have been on the Senate Finance Committee as it worked on marking up the America's Healthy Future's Act, considering hundreds of amendments proposed by committee members. The committee finished its work on amendments this morning, but will not vote on the overall measure as amended until next week, which will give the Congressional Budget Office time to issue a revised score on the measure.
This Week in Health Care Reform
Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, September 28 - October 2, 2009
This week, legislators from the Senate Finance Committee continued mark-up of the legislation proposed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT).
Senate Negotiations
Senate Finance Committee Negotiates Amendments: After days of negotiations, Sen. Baucus indicated on Wednesday that the Senate Finance Committee now had the necessary votes to pass legislation and that he anticipated finalizing the bill by the end of the week. Lawmakers from the Committee convened this week to continue voting on the hundreds of proposed amendments to the health care reform legislation offered by the senator earlier this month. Committee voting this week included:
- Rejection of two amendments, one from Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and one from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), that would have incorporated a public option in the bill.
- Modification of a financing provision that would make it harder to deduct medical expenses on personal tax returns. Lawmakers voted to exempt taxpayers older than 65.
- Rejection of Republican amendments that would have strengthened limits on both abortion coverage and medical coverage for illegal immigrants.
- Adoption of an amendment by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) requiring federal employees, lawmakers and their aides to buy health insurance from the health insurance exchanges to be created by the legislation in 2013.
- Rejection of an amendment proposed by Republicans to allow individuals to opt out of the bill's requirement for everyone to have insurance coverage, upholding the bill's inclusion of an individual mandate.
- Rejection of an amendment proposed by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to require drugmakers to provide $106 billion in rebates over 10 years. The Committee upheld an agreement made last June with drug manufacturers to provide $80 billion in rebates.
- Rejection of two Republican amendments that would have blocked cuts in the Medicare Advantage program.
Public Plan
Public Support for Reform Increases: After a summer embattled by contentious town hall meetings and characterized by slipping public support, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll indicates that public support for health care reform is now on the rise. About 57% of Americans now say that tackling health care reform is more important than ever - up from 53% in August. However, 47% of Americans favor taking additional time to craft a bipartisan approach to health care reform, compared to 42% who say Democrats should move faster on their own. In addition, substantial majorities support the individual mandate, the employer mandate and an expansion of programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Small Business Owners Support Health Care Reform: A recent study by Small Business Majority, a California-based advocacy group, found that small businesses in 17 states are struggling to keep up with health care costs and favor health care reform. Of small business owners in Pennsylvania who do not offer health insurance to employees, 87% say they cannot afford to do so; and, of those who do provide health insurance, 71% are struggling to afford it. Across the 17 states surveyed, 67% of small business owners agreed that health care reform is "urgently needed to fix the U.S. economy" - revealing a growing divide between small business and its traditional Washington ally, the Republican Party.
Young Adults Support Health Care Reform: While many young adults acknowledge that they do not fully understand the health care reform proposals and the potential costs that younger generations may bear, the group remains one of the strongest supporters of reform legislation.
House Activities
House Leaders Merge Bills: House Democratic leaders are working to merge the bills from the three House committees: the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Education and Labor Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. While House leaders now hope to have a final bill sometime in October, they are still debating major elements of the legislation, including whether public-option provider reimbursement rates should be based on Medicare rates and how to reduce the overall cost of the reform legislation. Managing the cost of the legislation is a key requirement for President Barack Obama, who has indicated that a viable bill must be deficit-neutral and cost $900 billion or less over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the cost of the current House package stands at more than $1 trillion.
Additional Activities
President Obama Allocates Money for New Medical Research: On Wednesday, President Obama announced the allocation of $5 billion in grants for medical and scientific research, medical supplies and upgrading laboratory capacity. The funds will be drawn from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Looking Ahead
Sen. Baucus seeks to finalize the Senate Finance Committee bill today. The Committee vote will be delayed until early next week to give the CBO time to assess the cost of the revised legislation.
Obama Grants $25 Million to States for Medical Malpractice Pilot Projects
Insurance Journal, September 18, 2009
The White House said Thursday it had allocated $25 million in grants to states for a pilot program that would seek to ease the impact of malpractice suits on the U.S. medical system, as President Barack Obama pushes for sweeping healthcare reform.
National Casualty Company exits dental professional liability market!
September 16, 2009
McManamon Insurance is aware that dentists have been receiving non-renewal letters from National Casualty Company for their dental malpractice insurance coverage.
McManamon Insurance has received a copy of the letter, which states, "National Casualty Company is no longer providing Dentists Professional Liability and is, therefore, non-renewing all policies. You will or may have already received a Notice of Non-Renewal from National Casualty Company. The non-renewal notice is not a reflection of your individual exposures or claims experience."
The letter also stated that policyholders are being given 90 days notice to enable them to secure their dental malpractice protection elsewhere. McManamon Insurance is ready to assist dentist who received this letter by helping you replace your current National Casualty Dental Malpractice Coverage with no laps in coverage.
A.M. Best Upgrades The Doctors Company Rating Outlook
Napa, California, June 30, 2009
The Doctors Company, the nation's leading physician-owned medical malpractice insurance provider, is pleased to announce that the A.M. Best Company has upgraded its rating outlook from "Stable" to "Positive." A.M. Best also affirmed the company's financial strength rating of A– (Excellent).
The enhanced rating reflects The Doctors Company's strong operating performance, excellent risk-adjusted capitalization, improved reserve development, appropriate cycle management, and leading position within the medical professional liability sector. A.M. Best also recognized The Doctors Company's geographic diversification, which has been supported by the successful integration of recent acquisition-driven growth.
The rating includes The Doctors Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries: The Doctors Company, an Interinsurance Exchange, Underwriter for the Professions Insurance Company, Professional Underwriters Liability Insurance Company (PULIC), OHIC Insurance Company (OHIC), and Northwest Physicians Insurance Company (NPIC).
About The Doctors Company
Founded by doctors for doctors in 1976, The Doctors Company (www.thedoctors.com) is relentlessly committed to advancing, protecting, and rewarding the practice of good medicine. The Doctors Company is the largest national insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability in the U.S. with 45,000 member physicians, and $2.8 billion in assets.
The Doctors Company Announces 2009 Membership Dividend
Napa, California, May 7, 2009
The Doctors Company, the largest national insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability in the U.S., is pleased to announce a premium dividend to reward member physicians for their loyalty and dedication to advancing the practice of good medicine.
The 2009 dividend credit will provide a premium reduction between 5 and 7.5 percent to members in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
"Our physician-led Board of Governors has authorized approximately $60 million in member dividends in the past three years," said Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, chairman and CEO. "Our conservative fiscal approach and years of conscientious investing firmly position us to provide the industry's most aggressive claims defense and financially reward our physician members for their delivery of outstanding patient care."
Members of the national specialty societies that endorse The Doctors Company may also receive a dividend in addition to their extensive program benefits. Eligible physician members of the following societies continue to participate in the dividend benefit as well as the program discount associated with their society memberships: American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Plastic Surgeons®, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. These prestigious medical organizations, representing 250,000 physicians nationwide, have chosen The Doctors Company as their endorsed or sponsored carrier.
The multiyear dividend is in addition to other industry-leading member benefits, including the Tribute® Plan, a breakthrough financial benefit that rewards members for their continued loyalty to The Doctors Company and for their commitment to a higher standard of care. The Doctors Company also offers comprehensive patient safety programs and a wide array of tools, support, and services to make practicing medicine easier and more rewarding for members.
Dividend distributions* will appear as credits against current premiums effective with renewals beginning July 1.
Department Issues Third Annual Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report
COLUMBUS, Jan 27, 2009
The Ohio Department of Insurance has issued its third annual Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report, Director Mary Jo Hudson announced. Data collected from entities providing medical professional liability coverage to Ohio health care providers and health care facilities shows a total of 3,451 medical professional liability claims were closed in 2007. Claims that generated an indemnity payment, which is the amount of compensation paid on behalf of each defendant to a claimant, averaged $315,635 per closed claim.
Ohio law requires all entities that provide medical professional liability insurance in Ohio - including authorized insurers, surplus lines insurers, risk retention groups and self-insurers - to annually report closed claim data to the Department. Claims are reported to the Department and included in analysis based on the year in which they reach final outcome. The specific data filed by each reporting entity is confidential and is not subject to public record requests. The Department is required to prepare an annual report summarizing the closed claims on a statewide basis.
Some key findings in the report include:
- Total Closed Claims: A total of 3,451 closed claims were reported for 2007 by 93 entities. Authorized insurers reported the majority of the closed claims, 2,144. Self-insured entities reported 1,096 closed claims, surplus lines insurers reported 157 closed claims and risk retention groups reported 54 closed claims. For 2006, 4,004 closed claims were reported by 93 entities and in 2005, a total of 5,051 closed claims were reported by 91 entities.
- Indemnity Payments: Nearly 80 percent of medical malpractice closed claims resulted in no payment to a claimant. A total of 2,705 closed claims had no indemnity payments while 746, or 20 percent, closed with an indemnity payment. The total amount paid to claimants was $235,463,393, an average of $315,635 per closed claim for those claims that generated an indemnity payment. Similarly, in past years, 20 percent of the closed claims generated an indemnity payment: totaling $228,735,572 for an average of $288,080 in 2006 and totaling $281,764,938 and averaging $269,374 in 2005.
- Closed Claim Expenses: While most medical malpractice claims closed with no payments to claimants, almost all closed claims generated expenses for investigation and defense. These expenses totaled $103,033,668, an average of $35,603 per closed claim. In 2006, these expenses totaled $88,131,139 for an average of $25,672 and in 2005, the expenses totaled $113,194,565, an average of $24,443.
The full report and past year's reports are available on the Department's website at www.ohioinsurance.gov. Ohioans with questions concerning insurance are encouraged to call the Department's consumer services hotline, 1-800-686-1526. Additional tips and more information about insurance, including a link to the Insure U web site, can be found at the Department's web site, www.ohioinsurance.gov.
Ohio Department of Insurance Contacts:
Robert Denhard, Public Information Officer
(614) 644-3366
Jarrett Dunbar, Public Information Officer
(614) 644-2475