March 4, 2021 by matray

Integris Group, formerly named CMIC, announced that Clifton P. Render has joined the company as its new director of information technology.

“Clif’s experience working with enterprise architecture within the MPL industry will be a great asset to the company,” said Michael G. Roque, chief operating officer of Integris Group. “His success in managing various projects, while balancing both business and IT goals, will prove beneficial to our ongoing technology initiatives. We look forward to his insights into the department and having his strategic leadership within the company.”

Render has more than 20 years of information technology experience. Most recently, he served as director of enterprise architecture and corporate development at ProAssurance Corp. Prior to that, Render held a variety of leadership positions in the technology field, spanning a variety of industries, including multiple companies in the healthcare sector.

February 24, 2021 by matray

The Doctors Company Foundation announced that it is accepting grant proposals through March 22, 2021, for innovative patient safety projects. Each year, the Foundation supports patient safety education for healthcare professionals and patient safety research with clinically useful applications by funding projects aimed at reducing or eliminating risk of adverse events.

“This year in particular, we welcome proposals for projects that focus on telehealth, diagnostic error and COVID-19,” said William C. Rupp, MD, Foundation chairman. “These grants reflect our mission to advance the practice of good medicine and support our commitment to serving those who provide healthcare.”

The first step in the application process is submission of a letter of intent. Then, the Foundation will ask selected applicants to submit a full proposal. Eligibility criteria and application guidelines can be found on the Foundation website.

In its 13-year history, the Foundation has provided over $6 million in grants for patient safety research and educational training. Grant recipients include the National Patient Safety Foundation (now the Institute for Healthcare Improvement) for developing guidelines on root cause analysis, Northwestern University for The Effect of Clinical Reasoning Feedback on Hospital Medicine Physicians and Residents, and the University of California, San Francisco, for The Family Input for Quality and Safety Study.

The Foundation approved the following grants in 2020:

• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and NYC Health + Hospitals: An Intuitive, Nonintrusive Approach to Reduce Patient Harm from Inappropriate Dosing of High-risk Drugs in Older Adult Patients Across an Urban Safety Net Hospital System.

• Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School: Immersive Virtual Reality Environment for Training Acute Care Teams (iREACT).

• Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation: Perioperative Deterioration: Early Recognition; Rapid Response; and the End of Failure-to-Rescue.

February 12, 2021 by matray

The Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association, the international organization representing the MPL insurance community, has appointed Sue A. Crook, MD, Constellation/MMIC, Agustin Montalvo, SIMED, and Mark E. Reynolds, the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc. (CRICO), to serve on the Association’s Board of Directors. The new appointments will fill three recently vacated positions.

Sue A. Crook, MD, FACR, is a partner in Midwest Radiology in Minnesota. She is also the chair of the Board of Directors of Constellation/MMIC. Dr. Crook is a Fellow of the American College of Radiology and a member of the Minnesota Radiological Society. She holds a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. Between 2017 and 2019, Dr. Crook participated in the MPL Association Fellows Leadership Program.

Agustin L. Montalvo is president of SIMED, the leading provider of medical malpractice insurance for physicians in Puerto Rico. Prior to joining SIMED in 2015, Mr. Montalvo served as vice president of Property & Casualty at Aon Risk Solutions, and as senior vice president & COO at AIG Insurance Company in Puerto Rico. Mr. Montalvo attended the University of Central Florida, earning a B.S. in industrial engineering.

Mark E. Reynolds has been president and CEO of the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions Inc. (CRICO) since 2012. The CRICO insurance program serves all of the Harvard medical institutions and its affiliates, providing coverage to 32 hospitals, 15,500 insured clinicians, more than 325 other healthcare organizations, and more than 135,000 other clinicians and employees. Mr. Reynolds has 30 years of experience in the healthcare and insurance industries. Prior to CRICO, he was CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, among the nation’s top 10 Medicaid health plans. Mr. Reynolds attended Swarthmore College and MIT.

“These distinguished leaders bring considerable knowledge and unique perspectives to the MPL Association,” said MPL Association Chair James Q. Swift, DDS. “We are fortunate to have them serve on the Association Board and look forward to their contributions as we work to advance the mission of the organization and its members.”

Each of the new Board members will serve on an interim basis until their nominations are presented to the Association membership in May 2021 for approval to serve three-year terms.

February 5, 2021 by matray

Coverys announced that its president and chief executive officer Gregg L. Hanson will retire, effective March 31, 2021. As part of this planned transition, the company’s board of directors named current chief operating officer Joseph G. Murphy will succeed Hanson as CEO and President, effective April 1, 2021.

After 25 years in the industry, Hanson began his career with Coverys in 2000 as chief underwriting officer. He was promoted to president and CEO in 2012.

“It has been a pleasure, both personally and professionally, to have worked beside Gregg over the course of my time with Coverys,” said Brenda E. Richardson, MD, board chair. “The board and I recognize that, under Gregg's leadership, Coverys has grown into the successful international medical professional liability company that it is today. We wish Gregg and his wife, Deb, much happiness in this next phase of their lives.”

Murphy joined Coverys as chief operating officer in 2015 and has played a pivotal role in the execution of Coverys’ long-term strategic plan. He has overseen underwriting, business development and distribution, business analytics and risk management, claims, and Coverys Insurance Services.

“Joe came to Coverys with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He has proven to be a great asset as COO, so this was a natural transition and a longstanding part of Coverys’ succession planning process. The Board is confident of our continued success with Joe leading Coverys into the next chapter,” Richardson said.

February 3, 2021 by matray

International insurance broker and risk advisor Marsh announced today that Gisele “Gigi” Norris has joined the firm to lead its US HealthCare Practice. In this role, Norris is responsible for the delivery of healthcare risk management knowledge, expertise and transactional services to clients across the U.S.

Norris joins Marsh from Aon, where for the last 20 years she served as the Western region HealthCare Leader and Pandemic Task Force co-leader. Based in San Francisco, Norris reports to Jeffrey Alpaugh, Marsh’s US and Canada Growth and Industry Leader.

Norris brings to the role more than 25 years of experience creating innovative risk solutions to help health care providers and payers achieve organizational and financial objectives. She also holds a doctorate in public health, with a concentration in epidemiology, and has provided counsel on prevention and mitigation of infectious disease risk to a diverse range of industries.

“Gigi joins the firm at a critical time for the healthcare industry as the pandemic has dramatically altered the risk profile of traditional health care providers,” Alpaugh said. “Her proven track record of providing strategic risk consulting and advice to some of the nation’s largest and most complex healthcare companies, coupled with her epidemiological expertise, will further help our clients confront today’s healthcare challenges.”

“Healthcare companies today need a risk advisor that can deftly identify emerging risks, assist in re-prioritizing risks and proactively bring risk management solutions to the table,” Norris said. “Marsh’s dedicated team of healthcare professionals coupled with its data and analytics are second to none in the industry. I’m excited to join the firm and lead this distinguished group.”

January 19, 2021 by matray

TDC Group announced today that Robert E. White Jr. has been promoted to chief operating officer (COO), reporting to Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, chairman and CEO.

In this role, White will oversee the operations of the four business units that make up TDC Group: The Doctors Company, Healthcare Risk Advisors, TDC Specialty Underwriting and Medical Advantage.

White, former president of FPIC Insurance Group, has more than 50 years of experience in the insurance industry. He joined The Doctors Company with the acquisition of FPIC in 2011, and he served most recently as executive vice president, medical professional liability, at The Doctors Company.

January 12, 2021 by matray

MagMutual Insurance Co. announced it will be returning a 7% dividend to its policy owners again this year. This marks 22 years of dividends and more than $315 million in financial rewards returned to policy owners since the company’s inception.

“As a true mutual, it is particularly at times like these we have to do as much as we can to support our policy owners,” said Joe Wilson, MD, executive chairman of MagMutual. “This always has been and always will be their company.”

“In an unprecedented year and amidst a pandemic, we maintained our financial strength, enabling us to return another dividend when our policy owners need it most,” said Neil Morrell, CEO of MagMutual. “Additionally, I’m pleased we were able to provide much-needed support to the physicians and hospitals we serve by delivering meaningful financial relief with premium deferral, discounts and more.”

January 11, 2021 by matray

Integris Group, previously CMIC, today announced the appointment of Nicholas Bontempo, MD, to the Integris Group Board of Directors. Bontempo previously served on the CMIC Group Board of Directors in 2018.

“Dr. Bontempo brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight to our Board of Directors,” said Stephen J. Gallant, chief executive officer of Integris Group. “His presence on the Board will be a great asset for the Company.”

Bontempo currently practices at Orthopedic Associates of Hartford where he focuses on the hand, wrist and elbow as well as orthopedic trauma and fracture care.

December 15, 2020 by matray

The Medical Professional Liability Association (MPL Association) president and CEO Brian K. Atchinson issued the following statement last night about the COVID-19 relief proposals that include liability protections for healthcare workers and facilities put forward earlier in the day by a bipartisan Congressional working group:  

“With doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals stretched beyond their limits in this latest COVID-19 surge, we are gratified that lawmakers are taking action to protect those who have been serving so tirelessly and the facilities where they work.  Along with the pressure those on the front lines face dealing with the pandemic, they find themselves not only at personal risk but exposed to professional liability for years to come.  Federal action would be crucial given the current patchwork of state laws and executive orders that leave those responding on unequal footing depending on where they practice. At the same time, this plan allows that victims of gross negligence or willful misconduct may still be compensated for injuries they suffer.

The MPL Association urges Congress to move forward with this proposal. These protections honor the nation’s healthcare professionals and their self-sacrificing dedication by offering protection for them from the future threat of lawsuits at a time when they are providing care for a tsunami of patients under crisis conditions.”

 

December 11, 2020 by matray

AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a­-” of ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. and ISMIE Indemnity Co. Both companies are domiciled in Chicago, IL.

These Credit Ratings reflect ISMIE’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The revision of the outlooks to negative reflects pressure on the group’s operating performance assessment following deterioration in underwriting and operating results and the ongoing challenges that the group faces to improve near-term results in a difficult medical professional liability (MPL) market. Underwriting performance has suffered over the most recent five-year period, largely as a result of significant declines in premium and a reduction in favorable development of prior accident year reserves. In addition to these influences, ISMIE’s earnings have been impacted by declining levels of investment income due to the prolonged low interest rate environment. These mounting pressures resulted in a net loss in 2019 and through the third quarter of 2020.

ISMIE has implemented a strategy to improve operating performance, which includes rate increases and reducing policyholder dividends. However, underwriting and operating losses are expected to continue over the intermediate term. AM Best notes that risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is expected to remain at the strongest level during this time.

The decline in the group’s earnings is further strained by its single state, monoline concentration of risk in the MPL sector as it relates to price competition, loss cost trends and regulatory challenges. The group is implementing an expansion strategy into new territories and product offerings as it seeks new opportunities to deploy its capital. AM Best will continue to monitor the group’s performance closely, given the considerable execution risk related to these initiatives.