Contact Information: Product contact: Jan Ferguson 845-920-7100 x 218 Media contact: Mechlin Moore 239-777-1595
New York Med Mal Insurer J.M. Woodworth Extends Operations to Three More States
PEARL RIVER, NY--(Marketwire - July 23, 2008) - J.M. Woodworth Risk Retention Group, Inc.
(RRG), a provider of medical malpractice insurance to physicians and
surgeons in New York, is extending its operations to Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and New Jersey, Sanford Elsass, President of The Uni-Ter
Group, Woodworth's underwriting manager, announced.
"We are responding to the need in these states for additional competitive
markets to provide doctors with stable, affordable medical malpractice
insurance," Elsass said. He pointed out that, "A number of physicians
insured by Woodworth are members of groups that practice in these nearby
states."
J. M. Woodworth has registered with the Insurance Departments of
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The Company is domiciled in
Nevada. Under the federal Risk Retention Act as amended in 1986, RRGs
domiciled in a single state can do business in any other state without
being subject to the regulatory authority of that state.
Woodworth opened for business in 2006 with operations exclusively in New
York. The Company has grown rapidly as an alternative market for doctors
who were faced with prohibitive med mal premiums. New York has long been
known as a "crisis state" burdened with malpractice litigation and the
failure to enact tort reform.
Jan Ferguson, Uni-Ter Senior Vice President, said Woodworth is able to
offer affordable med mal coverage through selective underwriting and
professional risk management. "The RRG is owned by participating physicians
and surgeons who have an incentive as shareholders to help the company
succeed. As a result, Woodworth has maintained a low loss ratio," she
noted.
Woodworth is rated "A Exceptional" by Demotech, Inc., a leading financial
analysis, actuarial, and rating firm. "We offer an attractive alternative
to the traditional carriers for doctors with good records in markets where
medical malpractice premiums are placing an extraordinary burden on the
medical profession," Ferguson explained. She pointed out that Woodworth
meets the criteria proposed by major hospital systems for accepting
physicians and surgeons insured by RRGs.
Ferguson recently joined Uni-Ter after serving as Director of Risk
Management for American Physicians Insurance Company, Austin, TX, and
earlier was a manager of the self-insurance plan for 6,000 physicians in
the University of Texas System. She will be meeting with hospitals,
physicians' groups, agents, and doctors to introduce J. M. Woodworth to the
medical community in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
The Uni-Ter Group builds and manages Risk Retention Groups in the
healthcare industry. It provides Woodworth with administrative,
underwriting, claims, risk management, marketing, regulatory, and
reinsurance services. Uni-Ter also oversees auditing, actuarial,
investment, and legal services on behalf of the RRG board. Uni-Ter is a
subsidiary of U.S. RE Companies, Inc., an international financial services
firm.