Do Attorneys Make Better Claims Adjusters?
Yes, insists one national insurer. When a patient files a malpractice claim against a physician, professional liability insurance companies typically assign a claims adjuster to handle it. But one Austin, Texas-based carrier is adopting a different model, as a recent report in Insurance Journal points out.[3]
Instead of a claims adjuster, Capson Physicians Insurance, which does business in 27 states, now assigns an in-house attorney from the moment a claim is reported. If it needs further guidance in how best to handle a claim, Capson also has at the ready a defense panel comprising senior partners from leading medical malpractice law firms.
The new model is intended to create a peer-to-peer relationship between Capson-affiliated attorneys and plaintiffs' attorneys—a relationship that, the company says, reduces the time and expense of closing claims. Capson notes, for example, that it typically closes meritless claims 83% faster than the industry standard. This accelerated pace not only reduces the time it takes to resolve a claim—from upward of 3 years to roughly 6 months—but also shrinks the overall price tag, which can reach $40,000 per claim.
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Cite this: Wayne J. Guglielmo. Did Agency Knowingly Hire Dangerous Doctors?; More - Medscape - Jan 15, 2018.
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