BY VANESSA ORR As premiums continue to increase for professional liability coverage, a number of physicians are choosing to self-insure, or “go bare.” And while Florida law does not require physicians to have professional liability insurance, the risks far outweigh the rewards. “Self-insuring is analogous to having a home that, because you paid the mortgage
BY VANESSA ORR One of the latest trends in the Florida malpractice insurance market is companies from out of state moving in to write policies for local physicians. What they don’t understand, according to Matt Gracey, managing director, Risk Strategies, Danna-Gracey, is that it’s not as easy as it looks. “There’s a whole movement of
By Vanessa Orr As jury awards have gotten larger over the past decade, it has had a significant impact on the legal environment, especially those awards being made against corporations and doctors. One of the reasons for this is social inflation, a term that is used to describe the increasing amount of awards that juries
By Vanessa Orr As if the past couple of years haven’t been difficult enough, physicians are now starting to feel the pain of medical professional liability rate increases. “Major carriers are really concerned about current rate adequacy,” explained Medical Malpractice and Workers’ Compensation Specialist Tom Murphy at Danna-Gracey, the largest medical malpractice insurance agency in
By Vanessa Orr Each day there is more breaking news on the COVID front, and with the release of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) new guidelines for the healthcare industry on June 21, 2021, it’s important that those working in hospitals, medical practices, long-term care facilities and other healthcare operations be made aware
By Vanessa Orr For the past 20 years, Danna-Gracey, the largest independent medical malpractice insurance agency in Florida, has dedicated itself to providing insurance coverage placement for doctors and other health care providers. As a result of its recent merger with Risk Strategies, a leading national specialty insurance brokerage and risk management firm, the company
By Vanessa Orr As businesses begin to open back up, employers are facing a myriad of issues pertaining to employee and patient safety. Some employees are ready to work but are afraid of contracting the virus; others may refuse to follow CDC guidelines, despite these rules being in place to ensure a safe reopening. Still
By Vanessa Orr It was already a perfect storm: the medical malpractice marketplace was hardening considerably as a result of insurers losing money not just in Florida, but in almost every state. Claims frequency was slowly rising as claims severity rose at a rapid pace; yet pricing had been kept very low because of the
By Tom Murphy The current COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of telemedicine. It has forced the sudden adoption of telemedicine by many medical practices and healthcare systems, accompanied by government and payer emergency measures that have helped to make telemedicine care easier. Most of these emergency measures will sunset, and while most physicians and
By Matt Gracey What a spicy, hot pandemic stew of lawsuits is brewing in America! This is particularly true in the healthcare world since this is a mother lode of a healthcare crisis. Simmering now and headed to a boil are incredibly strong factors: Fear; sadness; isolation; divisiveness; suspicion; and distrustfulness of authority, of others,