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Sometimes Support for One Community Leads You to Another
Terrance J. Sheehan, MD
President & CEO
Supporting the medical
community takes many
forms at Medical Mutual:
designing top flight educational
programs for
practice managers, risk
managers and hospital
executives; providing complimentary risk
management services to all clients; taking
an active role in Legislative matters that
impact the medical community; and, most
of all, providing what we believe are the
best medical professional liability insurance
programs in the marketplace. And in the
name of supporting the needs of our medical
community, that marketplace will soon
be expanding.
You see, as the dominant carrier in Northern New England, Medical Mutual has a number of clients that practice primarily in Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont, but occasionally perform medical and surgical services in Massachusetts. To maintain the peace of mind they have come to expect from their Medical Mutual insurance, several of those clients have requested that we begin providing coverage for their work in the Bay State.
Accordingly, we have applied to the Massachusetts Division of Insurance to begin writing medical professional liability insurance in that state and have received our Certificate of Authority as an Admitted Carrier. We are currently in the process of filing rates and policy forms in the hope that we can begin conducting business within the first quarter of 2012.
Does this also represent a new opportunity for growth? Absolutely. Medical Mutual's entry into the New Hampshire and Vermont marketplaces in the early 1990's was similarly a response to physicians in those states who sought the kind of comprehensive asset and reputation protection Medical Mutual offers. And the Company certainly grew as a result, albeit in a measured way, with a vigilant focus on maintaining a responsible approach to underwriting.
As always, fit matters
The fact is, Medical Mutual has never espoused the idea of growth for the sake of growth. Nor will we do so now.
So as we move forward into this expanded marketplace, our first order of business will be to take care of the existing cross-border issues our current clients are facing, while we gain an understanding of the regulatory climate and the competitive landscape.
Only then will we seek the approval of the Company's Board to begin entertaining new business opportunities. And we will approach each of them the same way we always have — by first evaluating the fit of the potential client with respect to culture and values. Are their approaches to patient care, their focus on quality and their appreciation for risk management initiatives in line with our beliefs? Surely, there are practices and institutions in Massachusetts that share our philosophy and approach and represent a good cultural fit. But just as surely, there are some that don't. Figuring out which applicants fit which profile will be our focus as we slowly wade into to this new pool of opportunity.
In short, while we'll soon be entering the Mass. marketplace, rest assured that Medical Mutual is not becoming a mass marketer.
