Insurance: Policy Holders of Lewis and Clark RRG, Inc. (formerly Sophie Palmer)

Dear Colleagues:

We recently posted a notice that this company was not going to renew Florida NP professional liability policies. We now have more information. The company announced that policy holders October 2012 to January 2013 will receive non-renewal notices by mail. Some of the letters that went out gave the member very short notice - only 1-3 days notice for some- and they had to scramble to find an alternative policy. Remember! It's mandatory for NPs to have professional liablity insurance to practice here (but not Florida physicians!). Please note we are not offering you any legal advice here, only reporting what members have told us and our understanding of this unique situation. Please contact the insurer for accurate detail.

There are options for you:

• March offers a policy: Click Here - If you are an AANP or ANA member, Marsh offers an association discount.
   
• NSO offers a policy: Click Here
   
• CM&F offers a policy: Click Here

I urge you all to read your Lewis and Clark policy today and decide how you want to proceed.

My read my original Sophia Palmer agreement to understand that they are not required to hold funds if the group becomes insolvent - this is the uniquenss of a risk retention group.  So you may want to ask them if you are covered still after you are dropped for the time period you were insured.

The actual notice reads:  “ This Policy is issued by the Sophia Palmer Nurses Risk Retention Group Inc. Your Risk Retention Group may not be subject to all of the Insurance laws and regulations of your state.  State insurance insolvency guaranty funds are not available for the Sophia Palmer Nurses Risk Retention Group Inc.  Therefore, these funds will not pay your claims or protect your assets if the Sophia Palmer Nurses Risk Retention Group Inc., the insurer, becomes insolvent and its unable to make payments as promised.”

In a sense this program acts now like a "claims made" policy instead of an "occurance policy"  for those who got dropped already. Unfortunately we are not sure if any type of tail coverage has been offered-that is doubtful in this type of situation. So your best bet is to contact the insurer and ask questions about your policy now and not wait till your policy lapses or you get a letter. Please direct all your questions to the insurer - A contact we have is:

Lynda Knowles -Director of Underwriting
Nurses and Allied Healthcare Providers of  Lewis and Clark RRG, Inc.
Uni-ter Underwriting Management Corp.
3655 Brookside Parkway, Suite 200
Alpharetta, GA 30022
678-781-2381 - direct
678-781-2450- fax