The 30-Year March
ISMIE Mutual Stands for Physician Service

Now in its 30th year of providing dependable medical liability insurance coverage to Illinois physicians, ISMIE Mutual could have served as an expert consultant to the film “March of the Penguins.” Last year’s box office hit (and a G-rated documentary, no less) tells the story of survival and renewal under the extreme threat of predators, the harshest weather conditions, and the constant demand to evolve and grow.

Unlike emperor penguins’ reliance on survival instincts developed over eons, ISMIE’s respected presence in the Illinois insurance market has emerged – and thrived – due to the expertise and commitment of fellow physicians. That’s meant working with fellow physicians to provide consistent coverage in spite of predatory competition, a harsh
litigation climate, and insurance market fluctuations that endanger financial well-being.

In the mid-1970s, liability insurers abandoned physicians in Illinois when the conditions
for insurance became hostile to doctors. Physicians banded together and worked diligently
to establish ISMIE, still run by physicians today. Every year since its inception, including
during the “soft” market of the 1990s, the company has offered continuous medical liability
insurance protection at the fairest possible price for physicians of every specialty in every Illinois county. No other medical liability carrier – past or present – can make that claim. We have stuck it out through hard times. Indeed, like the stalwart emperor penguins, ISMIE has persevered to overcome:

Predatory competition – When other insurance companies crossed the Illinois border to “cherry pick” various specialties and territories (wherever they could undercut price to steal market share), ISMIE held fast to ratemaking principles based on sound actuarial methods that reflected the true costs of running the company. Those fly-by-night insurers couldn’t sustain their businesses when medical litigation lawsuits escalated, leaving many physicians scrambling to find coverage. As usual, they could depend on ISMIE.

Harsh litigation climate – “Judicial hell holes” dot the Illinois landscape, inviting venue shopping and outrageous settlements that continue to this day. ISMIE has always stood firm and fought against non-meritorious claims, and took a vocal, public stand to fight for meaningful medical litigation reform. Illinois physicians can take pride in the fact that their efforts brought victory just last year with the new law instituting caps on non-economic damage awards. Anti-reform groups will do their best to overturn this landmark legislation. ISMIE and its pro-reform allies will continue the fight to face down any constitutional challenges.

Threats to financial strength – Protection and service are the tenets upon which ISMIE has built its 30 years of policyholder loyalty and trust. When ISMIE could no longer accept new business without compromising its commitment to protect current policyholders, the company had no choice but to impose a moratorium on new business. The painful necessity of maintaining the moratorium, now in its fourth year, continues to undergo regular review by ISMIE’s team of actuarial, financial and operational experts. In its recent directive, the Illinois Division of Insurance (DOI) stated that the moratorium shall not be lifted before December 1, 2006. ISMIE will comply with the DOI decision in the best interests of its policyholders.

ISMIE Mutual Chairman Harold L. Jensen, M.D., sums up the company’s endurance, success and policyholder loyalty this way: “Our insureds can rely on ISMIE for innovative risk management programs, tireless expert defense of claims, the best medical liability protection at the lowest possible price, and always: Physician-first service.”

The emperor penguins survive by standing together. So will physicians and ISMIE Mutual.