WP: Insurance Firms Subpoenaed in New Probe (excessive malpractice rates)

[DeepModem Mom]

Insurance Firms Subpoenaed in New Probe

By Brooke A. Masters
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 8, 2004; Page E02


New York and Connecticut state officials said they are investigating whether improper behavior by insurance companies has been a factor in the rapidly rising cost of malpractice insurance for lawyers and doctors.

New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal have not filed charges, officials said. Over the past week, three insurers that cover lawyers -- the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., American Financial Group Inc. and Arch Capital Group Ltd. -- have said they received subpoenas from Spitzer's office.

Lawyers for Spitzer's office have also been interviewing class-action attorneys about their particular problems getting insurance, said Fred Taylor Isquith, president of the National Association of Shareholder and Commercial Law Attorneys. Many of the group's more than 75 member firms have faced large premium increases or their carriers have refused to renew coverage in the past few years, Isquith and other plaintiffs' lawyers said....

***

Doctors nationwide have similar complaints about their malpractice insurance, and Blumenthal said yesterday that his investigation has not found that lawyers are being singled out. Rather he said, his evidence suggests that the entire field of professional insurance -- including medical and legal malpractice and coverage for corporate officers and directors -- is suffering from "excessive rates resulting from anti-competitive or illegal behavior."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45620-2004Dec7.html

[papau]

1. finally after 10 years of little chg in claims but huge prem increases

Should be an interesting trial!

:-)

[TaleWgnDg]

2. Thanks, DeepModem Mom for picking up this

Washington Post newspaper article . . . and it's good to hear that Spitzer and Blumenthal are investigating professional malpractice insurance. I, for one, find it's an insurance rip-off, through and through. I've never had litigation against me and the damn premium zips up and up and up.

The Bushies will try to come down on this. To call this investigation another junk science endeavor or try to deflect away from it. Republicans surely don't what Spitzer and Blumenthal to succeed with this.

Why? Because the Bushies, as we all know, blame lawyers. Gee, I wonder why Republicans would blame plaintiffs attorneys who sue corporations for their clientele? Hhmmmm? Wow.

And I wonder why the Bushies want to stop plaintiffs lawyers from suing corporations with so-called "tort reform?"

Two reasons why Republicans want to stop plaintiffs lawyers.

1.) Because Republicans don't want lawyers to sue corporations, no matter the reason, and
2.) Because Republicans want to remove one of the top Democrat campaign contributors from contributing money to the Democrats. Plaintiffs lawyers are one of the highest in number and highest in amounts contributing to Democrats. What better way to stop them than to take away their means of income?!

Let's hope that Tom Reilly, Attorney General of Massachusetts, tosses his hat into this fray too. The more states Attorneys General, the better.


.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. You're right, TWD -- this is a new twist on the "tort reform" issue...

W uses to hammer lawyers.

[salin]

3. worth following: kick

[gratuitous]

5. No need for an inquiry

The corrupt Bush administration and its media mouthpieces have already told me that malpractice insurance premiums are going up because of frivolous, groundless lawsuits being filed by greedy trial lawyers that still somehow wind up achieving six-, seven- and even eight-figure verdicts. I'm not sure how frivolous suits turn up such large judgments, but Rush and Sean tell me it's so, so it must be.

Why don't doctors set up their own mutual insurance?

[TahitiNut]

6. "Why don't doctors set up their own mutual insurance?"

Would the mutual insurance company be headed by Dr. Bill Frist? :eyes:


Obviously because they know enough about one another's behavior to run like hell from that idea. They run like hell from peer reviews, as well.

[Princess Turandot]

10. Actually, to set up an insurance company..

requires a tremendous input of capital as reserves to cover acturial estimates of future claims, I believe.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Actually they did that in the late 80's last time this shellacking took

place and they were ripped off by the industry managers they hired to manage the funds

[MGKrebs]

7. It's not "tort reform", it's MALPRACTICE PROTECTION.

Here's George Lakoff on the subject (slightly paraphrased):

''Tort reform, which means putting limits on awards in lawsuits, is a top priority for conservatives. Why do conservatives care so much about this? Because, in one stroke you prohibit all of the potential lawsuits that will be the basis of future environmental legislation and regulation. That is, it is not just regulation of the chemical industry or the coal industry or the nuclear power industry or other things that are at stake. It is the regulation of EVERYTHING. If parties who are harmed cannot sue immoral or negligent corporations or professionals for significant sums, the companies are free to harm the public in unlimited ways in the course of making money. And when jury awards are capped, companies can calculate in advance the cost of paying victims and build it into the cost of doing business."

An upcoming bill here in Georgia would cap damages at $250,000. Senate bill SB3. There are six co-sponsors of this bill, including last year's Majority Leader, President Pro Tempore, Majority Whip, and Perdue's floor leader. That's a lot of firepower. This bill singles out the health care industry for punitive caps.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. INSURANCE reform should be the term,,everyone HATES insurance co's

[74dodgedart]

11. Go Eliot

Insurance is the biggest rip-off on the planet.