DynaMed Plus
Full access to a leading point-of-care clinical information tool
We’re proud to have served more than 12,000 physician members in 2018.
We are now authorized to do business in 46 states and the District of Columbia—expanding our reach to nine new states in 2018.
It’s not every day that a group of nearly a hundred doctors leaves the largest health system in their region to start a multi-specialty, multi-site practice from scratch. But when they do, they know that we’re the partner they need to help them do it.
The new practice’s leaders called us to tell us about their plans, and it was clear from the start that they were going to need more than just a medical malpractice carrier. To help prepare them for launch, our Risk Management and Health Policy groups provided them with risk management documents and guidance on policies and procedures, and we reviewed some operational policies they had drafted. As soon as the new practice was up and running, they took our Self Risk Assessment, and we used the findings to help identify which policies and procedures they still needed to implement. We even helped with regulatory and compliance issues while they recruited a full-time compliance officer, and then once they found one, we worked with her to establish a peer review program for the new practice. Not only did we share our team’s expertise to help this practice get up and running, but we also helped them save time and money during a critical period.
The practice is thriving now, even in a market dominated by large health systems—and we’re delighted to have played a role in helping them re-establish themselves as an independent practice.
We owe it to our member-owners to manage our financial resources responsibly. Again last year, our expense ratio (the amount of premium we take in relative to the cost of running the company) was one of the lowest in the industry—and far below the industry average.
Our loss ratio—the percentage of premium used to pay claims—was well below industry average again in 2018. We attribute this performance to our members’ sound risk management strategies, as well as our commitment to underwriting only practices dedicated to quality outcomes, providing timely and relevant risk management tools, and keeping our Claims team closely engaged throughout the life of a claim.
Our low combined ratio (loss ratio plus expense ratio)—again one of the best in the industry—is a sign of our profitability. This enhances our ability to drive value for our members via investment opportunities, awards through our Legacy Fund and dividends programs, and expansion of our member benefits.
For 15 straight years, Medical Mutual has earned an A (“Excellent”) financial strength rating from A.M. Best Rating Service for our strong balance sheet, operating performance, and leadership in core markets. This was especially noteworthy in 2018, when we stayed strong while many of our competitors’ A.M. Best ratings were pressured.
When members invest in Curi with their premium dollars, they receive not only outstanding protection but also an opportunity to share in the financial results of the company. Our Legacy Fund and Policyholder Dividends programs are a return on that investment. Again in 2018, we hit our goal of returning half of our net income to our members through these programs.
Member savings accounts that grow tax-deferred and pay out upon designated events, including retirement.
Annual cash payments to qualifying physicians.
A malpractice claim can be devastating, but we do everything we can to make sure it isn’t. Our claims process is built to support doctors beyond what other companies do.
A dedicated Claims Examiner with local-market understanding works with each member right from the start of the claims process. And we stand with our members through every step of the process—from the initial suit meeting through mediation and every day of trial.
We're committed to defending good medicine. We don’t have a cost-containment unit when it comes to defending claims. We don’t make nuisance or convenience payments to plaintiffs or their lawyers. And we don’t resolve cases prematurely or without thorough investigation. We fight for what is right for our members, every time.
We won the overwhelming majority of our contested-liability trials that closed in 2018.
We closed nearly all our cases in 2018 without indemnity payment.
We spent far more in 2018 defending cases than we did making indemnity payments to plaintiffs—a striking marker of our commitment to defending good medicine.
“Curi’s Claims Examiners are actively involved in every step of the process, joining me to meet with doctors and attending every important event of the litigation, including the trial. It’s like having another attorney ‘second chairing’ with me.”—Dominic DeLaurentis, Jr., Esq.
Founder, Stahl & DeLaurentis, P.C.
Runnemede, NJ
Experiencing a medical malpractice trial can be one of the most traumatic experiences of a physician’s life—and going through two in one calendar year has the potential to be utterly devastating. That’s the situation one of our member OB-GYNs faced in 2018. The stakes couldn’t have been higher, but thanks to our commitment to devoting the resources needed to defend good medicine, the doctor received two defense verdicts seven months apart and is again able to devote her full attention to caring for her patients.
In one of the cases, a child was born at term with shoulder dystocia and was ultimately diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury. The plaintiff alleged that our member physician mismanaged the labor and delivery, and asked for $700,000 in damages. In the other case, a child was born at 30 weeks with cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental delays. The plaintiff in this case accused the OB-GYN of failing to perform a timely C-section and sought $10 million.
Our initial defense expert reviews indicated that liability was doubtful in both cases, so we assembled the teams needed to bring them to a successful conclusion. In the first case, seven physicians provided expert support for the defense, and in the second case we retained nine expert witnesses on behalf of our member. Both cases were defended by the same attorney, one of the most accomplished defense attorneys in her state and a longtime winner of the “Super Lawyer” award. Our Claims Examiners attended every day of trial. We ultimately spent nearly a million dollars to defend the two cases.
Both juries returned defense verdicts in less than seven hours. The positive outcomes put an end to a trying time for the physician and allowed her to return to doing the work she loves. While other insurance carriers are trimming costs in the claims process, we instead are doubling down on our commitment to defending good medicine and helping our members preserve their livelihoods and reputations.
“Curi manages cases the right way. They are hard-nosed when the defensible case needs to be tried, even when doing so appears difficult. Their team approach to defending their members makes them a pleasure, even a privilege, to work with.”—Byron J. Mitchell, Esq.
The Mitchell Law Group
Fredericksburg, VA
Our Risk Management tools and resources help physicians reduce risk, increase patient safety, and comply with federal and state law.
Our webinar series enables member physicians to achieve continuing medical education (CME) credits at no additional charge.
Physicians who take part in the webinars are awarded AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, while non-physician health care professionals receive a certificate of participation.
While many other companies’ Risk Management functions can be content to simply offer guidance about how to limit clinical risk in a practice setting, we take a far more comprehensive approach to managing risk—going beyond clinical risk alone to incorporate operational, regulatory and compliance, and financial risks as well. This approach served us well when multiple practices approached us last year seeking support for their plans to offer a completely new service line.
The two orthopedic practices were looking to begin performing office-based kyphoplasty, a type of minimally invasive surgery used to treat a spinal compression fracture, which had traditionally been an outpatient procedure performed only in surgery centers and hospitals. They reached out to one of our Risk Consultants for support thinking through the steps they needed to take to do so.
Our Risk Consultant began by researching kyphoplasties and the risks associated with them, what the practices would need to do to make their offices safe for the procedure, and what policies and procedures they’d need to put in place to perform them. She also coordinated with our Underwriting team to understand whether the procedure would be covered by the practices’ existing medical professional liability policies. We then worked with them to develop new procedure-specific informed consents and policies and procedures, and we helped them establish a path toward becoming accredited to perform the procedure in-office.
The practices are now performing kyphoplasties in their offices and are working toward accreditation—thanks in part to the comprehensive support offered by our Risk Management team.
We added a dedicated Health Policy function for the first time in 2018, to help our members and our internal team keep up with the constant changes in federal and state laws and regulations. Our health policy offering works in partnership with physicians and practice administrators to find solutions that allow them to focus on patient care without neglecting the intricacies of managing their businesses.
Our insurance services are made up of more than just a policy—our comprehensive suite of member benefits help practices operate efficiently and effectively every day.
Full access to a leading point-of-care clinical information tool
Protection against network security and privacy exposure risks
Additional regulatory and compliance protections
Support for larger practices looking to increase control over their insurance program and effectively self-insure
Programs to deal with regulatory hurdles such as MIPS and MACRA, Open Payments, and state and federal exclusion lists
Access to property and casualty insurance and related risk management services through our partnership with Sentinel Risk Advisors
An on-call, dedicated human resources consultant available for member inquiries and timely HR education
“As a healthcare provider, it has been extremely helpful for me to be able to reach out to [HR Consultant] Dee Brown. She has been an excellent sounding board and resource, and her advice has been ‘on point’ and always relevant. It makes a big difference to me that Dee is available as part of the services you provide. The relationship and the support I have received from Dee further reinforces my choice to stay with you as one of your insureds.”—Dr. Georgia Tetlow
Philadelphia Integrative Medicine
Wayne, PA
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