December 2004

Lower rates take effect

Doctors in 22 states to benefit from reductions in premiums for CBS‑RPG program

When it comes to malpractice insurance, most news is bad news. Throughout the country, premiums rates are usually skyrocketing and coverage is getting more and more limited.

However, Chiropractic Benefit Services (CBS) Risk Purchasing Group and CNA Insurance Company are bucking the trend and have actually reduced premiums for doctors of chiropractic in 22 states.

States included in the reduction include: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Despite the lowered rates, the quality of the coverage will not suffer, emphasized Timothy Feuling, CBS‑RPG president. "Often, we've seen companies drop their rates by imposing deductibles or reducing coverage," he said. "That's not the case with CBS. The rates are going down but the policies still offer the best protection available today, backed by the most secure underwriter in the industry."

The policies offered through CBS are underwritten by CNA Casualty Insurance Company ‑‑ the country's fourth largest commercial insurance writer, the 11th largest property and casualty company and the 51st largest life insurance company ‑‑ has an AM Best 'A' rating and more than $60 billion in assets.

Among the key elements of the policy is a consent‑to‑settle clause, giving doctors the right to decide whether or not to settle a case out of court. Without this important clause, an insurance company could force the doctor to settle a case even if there was no wrongdoing on the doctor's part.

In addition, the policy offered through CBS provides defense for sexual misconduct complaints, which have become one of the most common type of malpractice case brought against doctors. Many professional liability policies do not offer that coverage, leaving doctors to fight such complaints on their own.

Another important feature of the policy is $30,000 coverage for professional board dispute defense. This is considered particularly important coverage since, according to many legal experts, board complaints can be worse than lawsuits, since doctors have little or no legal rights. A good attorney has become essential whenever a doctor is the subject of a board complaint, and few policies provide coverage to pay for that defense. Other coverage offered by the CBS program is $10,000 in HIPAA defense.

Nor will customer service be adversely affected by the reduced premiums, Feuling noted. Through the years, CBS‑RPG has won praise for its high level of personal service. In addition, CBS puts an emphasis on education, using its online newsletters, the CBS Report (www.cbsmalpractice.com/report) and free teleclasses to provide practical information to all DCs about the best way to avoid or defend against malpractice suits. "Our goal is to protect doctors by teaching them to bullet proof their practices, and giving them the best possible coverage and service," Feuling stated.

Doctors wanting more information can contact Timothy Feuling at 800‑883‑0412 or by e‑mail at feuling@cbsmalpractice.com. To obtain a free "quick quote" from CBS, visit the CBS website at www.cbsmalpractice.com. The website also provides additional information and advice on a variety of risk management topics.