Presidio Insurance Blog » dividend

Norcal Mutual Announces 2011 Dividend for California Insureds

Presidio — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:40:41 +0000

Norcal declared a 2011 dividend, which will be returned to policyholders in the form of premium credits to eligible individual physicians, medical groups and healthcare facilities. The 2011 dividend equates to approximately 10 percent of eligible policyholders’ 2010 premiums.

Norcal has advised us eligibility for the 2011 dividend will be based on the following:

Policyholder was actively insured and in good standing with NORCAL Mutual on September 30, 2010. (The dividend amount is based on the premium written for each eligible policyholder on policies with effective dates beginning on or after October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010.)
Policyholder renews his or her NORCAL Mutual policy for 2011.
Policyholder is a physician, a physician group or a healthcare facility (excluding most emergency rooms) written on NORCAL Mutual’s Individual/Entity, Facility, or Group Policy Forms. ER groups written on the IE Form are eligible for the dividend.

Please note that the 2011 dividend will be paid only to those policyholders who meet all of the criteria listed above.

As a Norcal approved broker, Presidio Insurance Solutions can provide information as well as rate comparisons for all interested clients.

www.PresidioInsurance.com

NORCAL Dividend: As Good As a Discount

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:02:07 +0000

NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company announced last week they will declare a dividend for 2010. The dividend equals about 10 percent of the prior policy-year premium for all California medical malpractice insureds. The dividend is applied just like a discount to the insurance billing statement.

The only catch, of course, is you have to maintain your medical malpractice insurance policy with Norcal throughout the year.

As a broker representing Norcal Mutual, Presidio is very pleased our clients will see another year of discounted insurance premiums. We anticipate this run of dividends, discounts and low overall premiums will be coming to an end in the near future, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Medical Malpractice Company Pays Dividends

Presidio Insurance — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:12:44 +0000

Generally speaking, once a premium is paid to an insurance company, it is gone. The Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Company (LAMMICO,) which was founded in 1981, announced its first dividend to policyholders in the spring of this year, 2008. That’s quite a long time to wait for a dividend return, if it were just that once. Now, for the second time in 2008, LAMMICO has reported it will be returning a 20 percent dividend to all LAMMICO policyholders in Louisiana and Arkansas. Some 6000 policy holders are expecting a dividend check during the first quarter of 2009, if they had coverage as of November 21, 2008.

There is a catch, though. Just as with the last dividend, the stated 20 percent is a bit deceiving. The amount is actually closer to ten percent of the premium paid in many cases. There’s a Louisiana Patients’ Compensation Fund (PCF) surcharge included when appropriate, which apparently about doubles the premium for those practicing in Louisiana.

LAMMICO has declared the total dividend to be about $10.3 million. While that’s good news in one sense, it means their insured medical professionals were either charged $10 million too much, or the combined efforts of policyholders and aggressive defense by LAMMICO managed to reduce liability claims by that sum. It’s always best to err on the side of caution, though. If they had not collected that amount and claims had been greater, it could have put the company’s owners at risk of having to repay the amount of the claims, both separately and collectively. Since LAMMICO is policyholder-owned, that may mean that those who have coverage through LAMMICO would be held liable. Since A.M. Best has rated LAMMICO an A- for more than a decade (due to its financial stability and security,) it seems this company, unlike some others in similar setups, is taking necessary and appropriate steps to protect its owner-policyholders.

There are many factors to consider in choosing an insurance carrier. As an independent broker, Presidio Insurance is able to be objective in matching healthcare providers with the most appropriate carrier for their needs. As 2008 comes to a close, give us a call to evaluate your coverage. Think of it as a free, no-obligation check-up!