Learn more about National Medical Professional by clicking on the questions below:
Q. What is National Medical Professional?
A. National Medical Professional Risk Retention Group, Inc. is a licensed medical professional liability carrier domiciled in the State of South Carolina. We are the only oncology focused liability insurance carrier in the United States, and the only carrier sponsored by the American College of Radiation Oncology. Established in 2006, National Medical Professional was formed to provide a stable source of professional liability insurance primarily for radiation oncologists. As cancer programs have evolved, National Medical Professional has expanded its underwriting appetite to include other oncology focused specialties.
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Q. What is a Risk Retention Group?
A. A risk retention group (RRG) is a liability insurance company that is owned by its members. Under the Liability Risk Retention Act (LRRA), RRGs must be domiciled in a state. Once licensed by its state of domicile, an RRG can insure members in all states in which it applies and is approved. Because the LRRA is a federal law, it preempts state regulation, making it much easier for RRGs to operate nationally. As insurance companies, RRGs retain risk.
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Q. Who is eligible for coverage with National Medical Professional?
National Medical Professional provides medical malpractice insurance tailored for the unique risks faced by today's oncologist. Our roots run deep in the practice of radiation oncology, and we are uniquely positioned to defend and protect our colleagues in medical oncology, hematology, surgical oncology, or urology.
We insure solo practitioners and large, multi-specialty integrated cancer programs. We also insure hospital-affiliated practitioners, as well as corporate entities that are owned by one or more insureds, and their employed physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, CRNP's, PA's, and other staff.
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Q. Does National Medical Professional have a financial rating?
A. National Medical Professional does not purchase an insurance rating from any of the major rating agencies. We are reinsured by an "A" (A.M. Best) rated carrier for losses over $250,000 per claim.
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Q. How do I know National Medical Professional is financially stable?
A. Our insured can be confident of our financial stability. First, we are regulated by the South Carolina Department of Insurance, which conducts periodic audits of our insurance operations. Second, we are independently audited on an annual basis, and have consistently obtained a "clean audit". Third, we engage one of the leading actuarial firms in the nation to conduct period rate and reserve adequacy studies to assist us in determining rates that are adequate, not excessive, and not unfairly discriminatory.
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Q. Is there a common ratio that helps define a carrier's capacity to provide a stable insurance product?
A. One common measure is a carrier's premium to surplus ratio. A general industry guideline is that for every three dollars of premium, a carrier should hold no less than one dollar of surplus, a 3:1 ratio. Most malpractice carriers strive to keep this ratio below 2:1, and carriers rated favorably by AM Best, and other major rating agencies, will often have a ratio of 1:1 or better. National Medical Professional, and our primary layer of reinsurance combine to write approximately $3,700,000 in net written premium. This premium is backed up by approximately $13,000,000 in capital, an impressive 0.3:1 ratio. In other words, for every 30 cents in premium (which is used to operate the company, and pay damages and claims expenses), National Medical Professional has one dollar in surplus as a financial backstop in the event of unexpected claim volume or severity.
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Q. Can doctor-members be held personally liable for any losses incurred by NMP?
A. No. NMP offers only non-assessable policies, which means that at no time will any member be liable for any losses incurred by the company.
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Q. Does National Medical Professional participate in Insurance Guaranty Association?
No. As a risk retention group, National Medical Professional neither pays into nor receives any benefit from State Guaranty Funds. National Medical Professional founders believed and remain confident that the control and efficiency of operating as a risk retention group far outweigh any perceived benefit of a limited backstop for insolvency such as a Guaranty Association.
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