Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best browser with which to view this website?
Who can answer my questions about my premium and coverage?
How can I access current Managing Risk materials and earn Risk Rewards premium discounts through the Managing Risk Partnership Program?
What mechanisms are in place to support me in the event of a claim?
What is ISMIE Mutual doing to counteract the medical liability crisis?

A.M. Best Rating

What is ISMIE Mutual’s A.M. Best rating?
What is an A.M. Best rating?
How does A.M. Best determine a rating?
Will ISMIE Mutual experience a change to its rating in the future?
What about other companies in Illinois and their A.M. Best rating?

Dividend Program

Do I have to apply for the dividend?
Who is considered an “eligible insured”?
How will the individual amounts for a physician be determined?
Why does the dividend only include the first million in coverage?
How will the dividend be paid?
Is the determination of the dividend pools a fixed amount for future years?
When originally announced, this was to be a two-year program. Is this now a five-year program?

ISMIE Mutual’s Relationship with Brokers

Why does ISMIE Mutual work with brokers?
How are brokers compensated?
If I don’t use a broker, and ISMIE does not have to pay commission, why can’t I receive a discount?
Why doesn’t ISMIE stop using brokers, so as to bring premiums down?

General

What is the best browser with which to view this website?
ISMIE website visitors are free to use a variety operating systems and Internet browsers. We want every visitor to have the best possible experience on our website, but we understand it is impossible to provide webpages that work identically, efficiently and effectively across all platforms.

Our website has been tested to work with all major browsers, however issues have been reported with the new Internet Explorer 10 release. While we are working to optimize our website for Internet Explorer 10, we recommend using a safe, alternative browser like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for the best site experience or turn on compatibility mode in the address bar of IE 10. Click the links below to get started.

If you need assistance accessing your policyholder information online, please contact us toll-free 888-476-7776 or e-mail onlinehelp@ismie.com.

Who can answer my questions about my premium and coverage?
Call our Underwriting Division at 800-782-4767 ext. 3350, or 312-782-2749. You may also send an inquiry by e-mail to underwriting@ismie.com. Our staff is standing by to assist you with answers to your questions.

How can I access current Managing Risk materials and earn Risk Rewards premium discounts through the Managing Risk Partnership Program?
You can access up-to-date Managing Risk information from the homepage. For exclusive policyholder information, to register for a seminar or to access online learning tools, log on by entering your username and password. If you need to request your login information, contact us by e-mail at onlinehelp@ismie.com or call us toll-free at 888-476-7776.

You can save up to 15% on your insurance premium through your successful completion of Risk Rewards activities. These savings are in addition to any discounts you may already have, such as our loss-free discount. Discounts earned during the 2011 calendar year will be credited to policy renewals beginning in July 2012. All eligible policyholders are mailed written materials detailing the options. You may also access this information at www.ismie.com; e-mail an inquiry to riskmanagement@ismie.com, or call us at 800-782-4767, ext. 3300.

What mechanisms are in place to support me in the event of a claim?
Yes, you can save up to 15% on your insurance premium through your successful completion of Risk Rewards activities. These savings are in addition to any discounts you may already have, such as our loss-free discount. Discounts earned during the 2010 calendar year will be credited to policy renewals beginning in July 2011. All eligible policyholders are mailed written materials detailing the options. You may also access this information at www.ismie.com; e-mail an inquiry to riskmanagement@ismie.com, or call us at 800-782-4767, ext. 3300.

What is ISMIE Mutual doing to counteract the medical liability crisis?

In partnership with ISMS, ISMIE Mutual engaged in a multi-year campaign to raise awareness for the importance of the 2005 medical liability reform law, which was unfortunately overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2010.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, ISMIE Mutual joined ISMS to convene a series of physician-focused meetings to determine future strategies for reform. ISMIE Mutual continues to evaluate alternative and innovative solutions for medical liability reform.
ISMIE Mutual supports and promotes research on the damaging effect of Illinois’ broken medical legal system.
Through initiatives such as the Risk Rewards Partnership Program, ISMIE Mutual is a leading innovator for risk management.
Patient and physician education remains a priority, which is reflected by the 2011 publication of Responding to Unanticipated Outcomes.
ISMIE Mutual welcomes invitations to speak at grand rounds, medical meetings or other public forums to promote the overwhelming benefits of medical liability reform and how reform increases access to medical care.

A.M. Best Rating - All about ISMIE's A.M Best rating and how it is determined

What is ISMIE Mutual’s A.M. Best rating?
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company’s rating from A.M. Best is currently A- (excellent). In issuing this rating, Best recognizes ISMIE to be a financially secure company with long-term viability in the Illinois medical liability market.

What is an A.M. Best rating?
A.M. Best is an agency that rates medical liability insurance companies and other carriers that cover a broad range of insurance lines. A rating by A.M. Best is representative of Best’s opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and that insurer’s ability to meet ongoing obligations to its policyholders.

How does A.M. Best determine a rating?
The rating process by A.M. Best is not limited to an insurer’s ability to pay claims. The process is complex, involving both quantitative and qualitative analysis, including:

Profitability analysis
Underwriting experience
Investment income
Capital generation analysis
Leverage analysis
Loss and loss adjustment expense reserve development
Liquidity analysis
Cash flow

Many of the above items indicate a company’s financial strength, which is of critical importance in the long run, particularly to medical liability – a market historically prone to extreme swings in volatility. It is the financial strength of an insurance company that provides the resources necessary to withstand the “ups and downs” of the medical professional liability market.

Will ISMIE Mutual experience a change to its rating in the future?
Each year, usually in the spring, meetings are held with A.M. Best to review ISMIE Mutual’s financial and operational results from the preceding year. A change to ISMIE’s A.M. Best rating – either an upgrade or a downgrade – may occur from year to year, or the rating may go unchanged.

What about other companies in Illinois and their A.M. Best rating?
While an A.M. Best rating is an important factor in an overall evaluation of a medical liability insurance carrier, the rating alone does not guarantee a company will continue to be here for Illinois physicians as ISMIE Mutual has for more than three decades.

Some of ISMIE’s competitors choose to have their companies rated by A.M. Best; others do not. ISMIE invests the time and effort to go through the vigorous rating process - with all its scrutiny - because of the belief that policyholders should have an objective resource by which they may affirm their choice of ISMIE Mutual as their medical liability insurance company.

Dividend Program - Details for policyholders about ISMIE’s Dividend Program

Do I have to apply for the dividend?
No. It is automatic for all eligible insureds.

Who is considered an “eligible insured”?
Any policyholder who has been continuously insured by ISMIE Mutual since the July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007; July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, and/or July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009 policy years – and renews on or after July 1, 2010 – is considered an eligible insured. The dividend will be given to the policyholders automatically as a credit on their renewal invoice for the new policy year.

How will the individual amounts for a physician be determined?

The amount in the dividend pool will be distributed to all eligible insureds and will be applied as a credit to each policyholder’s renewal premium. The dividend amount will be calculated from the policyholder’s “adjusted base premium” for the first million in coverage for the applicable policy year. “Adjusted base premium” is the manual rate adjusted for the insured’s claims-made maturity year factor, less any newly practicing discount, part-time discount or suspended coverage. It does not include any credits (such as loss-free, schedule rating, or Risk Rewards) or debits.
The dividend will not cover allied health professionals sharing limits of liability with their employer.
The dividend will include corporate and clinic entity policies as eligible insureds.

Why does the dividend only include the first million in coverage?
ISMIE reinsures the coverage over one million and passes all of the risk premium on to the reinsurer. Thus, there is no premium to share on this coverage.

How will the dividend be paid?
The dividend will be a credit on the renewal invoice on or after July 1 of the applicable policy year and, if appropriate (see next question), the renewal invoice on or after July 1 of each succeeding year.

Is the determination of the dividend pools a fixed amount for future years?
No. Each year ISMIE engages outisde independent actuaries who examine the applicable policy year and determine the feasibility of funding the dividend pool. If the experience gets worse, the amount will decrease; but if the experience improves, the amount will increase.

When originally announced, this was to be a two-year program. Is this now a five-year program?
Yes. Initially, the dividend program was approved for two policy years. The program now reflects underwriting results for the 2005-2009 policy years. Policyholders who were continuously insured in those years will receive the dividend as a credit on their premiums for the 2011-2012 policy year.

ISMIE has issued dividends every year since 2005. As of 2011, total dividend dollars granted to policyholders is $74 million.

ISMIE Mutual’s Relationship with Brokers - Learn why and how ISMIE works with brokers

Why does ISMIE Mutual work with brokers?

ISMIE Mutual accepts business on both a direct and brokered basis. It is a policyholder’s choice whether or not to use a broker.
Until the mid-1990s, ISMIE did not accept broker business. Prior to that time, ISMIE was a direct writer, i.e., ISMIE initiated and maintained a direct relationship with its policyholders. During the mid-1990s, when more than 40 companies were writing medical liability insurance in Illinois, an increasing number of physicians began to use brokers to shop for insurance coverage. This was true of ISMIE policyholders, as well as physicians who were not insured through ISMIE. To accommodate ISMIE insureds and prospective insureds, ISMIE agreed to work with brokers and to accept business from them.
Currently more than 70 percent of ISMIE’s policyholders have chosen to use the services of brokers. This is an overwhelming majority. As long as policyholders choose to use brokers, ISMIE will, without hesitation, accommodate that choice.

How are brokers compensated?

Brokers are compensated through the payment of commissions. Even though it is the policyholder who decides to use the services of a broker, it is the insurance company that actually pays the commission. This is true in any line of insurance – whether it be auto, home, medical liability, health, etc.
The amount of commission that ISMIE pays a broker is a percentage of the policyholder’s annual premium.
The commissions paid to brokers are but one part of ISMIE’s overall administrative and operating costs. All such administrative costs are included in the development of ISMIE’s rates. This is standard insurance industry practice. An insurance company’s rates must account for both loss costs, as well as all of the expenses necessary to manage the company’s activities.

If I don’t use a broker, and ISMIE does not have to pay commission, why can’t I receive a discount?

Commissions paid to brokers are part of the overall operating expenses factored into annual premium rates. Throughout the insurance industry – not just medical liability, but also auto, home, health, etc. – it is one of the various operational expenses incurred by an insurance company.
The basic philosophy of insurance is to spread risk among policyholders based upon the individual insured’s exposure to potential loss. Fair underwriting practice dictates that physicians in different specialties and different geographic locations pay premiums based on the loss history of those specialties and locations. Certain specialties and counties that exhibit similar loss patterns are grouped together. All policyholders share the costs of common operational expenses. Broker commissions are part of those operational expenses that are shared among all policyholders.

Why doesn’t ISMIE stop using brokers, so as to bring premiums down?
ISMIE has always believed that a direct relationship with policyholders is the best relationship. However, more than 70 percent of ISMIE’s policyholders now choose to use the services of a broker. In keeping with the changing business and professional desires of our physician colleagues, and our hallmark service philosophy, ISMIE will accommodate a policyholder’s decision to engage a broker.