Evan H. Jenkins

Dr. Stollings, who with WVSMA Executive Director Evan H. Jenkins, visited with Medical Mutual,s senior management team on May 29, 2003, has been involved in the process of establishing Physicians, Mutual since its inception.

Evan Jenkins, executive director of WVSMA in Charleston, says that the high cost of insurance is not just an affordability issue - St. Paul Companies and Medical Assurance Group, the two major carriers who hold 65 percent of the marketplace, are raising premiums 15 percent and 35 percent, respectively, for example - but also a matter of availability.

"Insurance companies have tightened up underwriting significantly, and it's not unusual for a physician with two or more claims in a specified time period to be denied coverage," he says, adding that even the best physicians can be at risk for litigation."It's difficult to be claims-free when you are in a high-risk specialty.There isn't necessarily a correlation between the quality of a doctor and his or her claims history."

Those in the business of insuring physicians for malpractice agree that a number of factors, such as underpricing due to competition, lack of tort reform, extravagant and unrealistic verdicts, and difficulty predicting losses have all taken their toll on premium rates.

"Insurance relies on predictability - spreading risk among doctors based on how often there is a suit and the average cost of that suit, so that you can develop an appropriate rating structure.