Insurance Program to Help a Growing Number of Smaller Health Care Organizations Manage Their Exposure to Liability and Crime
Losses
WARREN, NJ, October 4, 2007 - An aging U.S. population, development of new medical technologies and drugs and consumer demand for affordable care are driving
the formation and growth of small to mid-sized health services businesses. In response, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
has developed ForeFront Portfolio for Health Care Organizations--a portfolio of insurance coverages to help these businesses manage their exposure to potentially crippling liability and
crime losses.
"As the health care industry evolves, new organizations such as retail clinics, bariatric surgery centers and cancer treatment
centers are forming to meet consumer needs," said Beth Strapp, vice president, Chubb & Son, and health care industry practice
leader, Chubb Specialty Insurance. "Smaller not-for-profit and private for-profit health care organizations face many of
the same financial risks as the large general hospitals and health care systems. However, these smaller institutions typically
have fewer resources for managing risk and are more susceptible to being financially devastated by a liability lawsuit or
a crime loss."
ForeFront Portfolio for Health Care Organizations is the only coverage portfolio of its kind specifically designed for businesses with under $100 million in annual revenue
and fewer than 250 employees. The program includes six coverage sections and a variety of options available within each to
help address an organization's unique needs. The six coverage sections include directors and officers liability, employment
practices liability, fiduciary liability, crime, kidnap/ransom and extortion, and workplace violence expense. Combined or
separate limits of liability are available for all coverage sections.
"The two most common and costly exposures for privately owned, small to mid-sized health care organizations are wrongful termination
and discrimination lawsuits and crime losses," said Strapp. "Our research indicates that 44 percent of private companies
with 50 to 249 employees had experienced an employment practices liability (EPL) lawsuit in recent years. Meanwhile, 36 percent
of companies had reported employee theft losses. Some of these losses cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars or
even more than $1 million."
Strapp added that, "Increased government regulation and heightened scrutiny of corporate governance may also create more exposure
for an organization's leadership." Tillinghast Towers Perrin reports that health service directors and officers, on average,
are 32 times more likely to be sued than their counterparts in other businesses.
"Chubb's ForeFront Portfolio for Health Care Organizations provides protection in one package for these and other risks. It also offers complimentary access to ChubbWorkssm, an online suite of loss prevention services for EPL customers, and a variety of health-care-specific loss prevention booklets
and checklists and a lending library," said Strapp. "In addition, customers who purchase kidnap/ransom and extortion or workplace
violence insurance have access to crisis management services."
Chubb has been providing insurance solutions for the health care industry for more than 25 years. The company offers a broad
range of products for health care organizations, including Health Care Portfolio for larger, more complex health care customers
such as managed care organizations, professional associations and hospitals. Other coverages include property, machinery
breakdown, environmental site liability, cyber liability, builders' risk and employed lawyers professional liability.
The member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion dollar organization providing property
and casualty insurance for personal and commercial customers worldwide through 8,500 independent agents and brokers. Chubb's
global network includes branches and affiliates in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
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