Grocery Shopping withy 1965 Prices

The social work profession is truly a noble one founded on service, integrity, and clinical expertise. At times, it can be a stressful and hazardous occupation. The nation is grateful for what you do. And so are we! Thank You!

This may be a rhetorical question, but here it is anyway. If all things being equal except for price, would you continue to shop at a grocery store with 1965 prices? I already hear your answer echoing back to me as an enthusiastic YES!!!!

Here are a few historical examples of price increases: (Source: 1960’s Flashback.com)

Zero Price Increase for a Preferra Professional Liability Insurance Policy

So, the Preferra is that grocery store. It is a fact, not a myth.

Another fact is that in the past three years, insurance carriers have initiated huge insurance premium rate hikes while reducing policy benefits. It is called a “hard market”. That’s when insurance carriers jack up their premiums to cover losses to maintain their profit margins.

You may reasonably ask: “So why do I have access to such a great comprehensive set of Preferra Insurance Company RRG, Professional Liability, General Liability, and Cyber Liability policies?”

It’s because the Preferra is owned by its policyholders and is not controlled by profit-obsessed Wall Street investors. We strive to take cost out of every aspect of our business while delivering the best coverage in the nation to you at the lowest price, along with many free support services.

Our Record Proves It … No Price Increases in over 45 Years.

According to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, Deloitte Insights’ survey of 200 industry leaders reported on December 3, 2020, the impact of COVID-19 generated large losses in the property and casualty insurance business, and the trend will continue perhaps into Q3 2022. These premium rate increases impacted the malpractice, professional liability, and errors & omission lines. Commonly, the leadership at large insurance carriers (who are always overwhelmingly profit-focused for Wall Street investors) bundle insurance lines together when exiting the market or levy premium rate hikes on the entire bundled category.

For example, a carrier may sustain huge malpractice claims losses from invasive therapy in medical practices, raise rates astronomically, and subject social worker professional liability policies to the same premium rate hike treatment. Often, the carriers don’t discriminate. They generally make a clean sweep of it. So, unfortunately, practitioners get swept up in these misguided actions.

In the first six months of 2020, property & casualty insurance companies’ return on equity dropped from 8.3% to 2.8%, and COVID-19 related losses of $6.8 billion. This profit problem is what CEOs respond to immediately by doing what we call “chain saw surgery” on their company. They unilaterally amputate insurance lines, levy price increases on what remains, and shut down policy benefits like a tourniquet.

If profit drops continuously, financial losses eventually drive insurance companies or any other company out of business. The A.M. Best Special Report titled “2019 U.S. Property /Casualty Impairments Update“ as quoted by the Insurance Journal, (November 16, 2020, p. – 22), reported that from 2000 to 2019, 388 property & casualty insurers suffered impairments, and 314 became insolvent liquidations.

The Medical Professional Liability category ranked as #6 on the top of the impairment list. This is primarily due to large lawsuit cases and social justice verdicts that impact insurance policies with high limits and high sub-limits.

Marsh, a leading worldwide insurance brokerage, reported in the Insurance Journal (Ibid, p. – 10) that the “professional lines” product segment, which includes professional liability and malpractice policy coverages, sustained rate hikes of 40% on average during the past year.

In the liability insurance market, we see a blending of high-limit malpractice losses from doctors with low-limit professional liability from social workers. The result is that both classes are blended and suffer price hikes and benefit cuts.

The Preferra uses responsible, creative, and productive tactics and strategies to protect its policyholders from premium price hikes while providing the industry’s most comprehensive insurance coverage and benefits. Our 50-year record proves it.

Thank you for all that you do as first responders and as behavioral health and social work providers. It is truly a noble profession needed now more than ever. Good luck and stay healthy!