OMIC engages with cyber coverage team at TMHCC to scan websites
Ransomware attacks have proliferated in recent years. With ophthalmology practices of all sizes increasingly using online file storage, smart phones, laptops, and tablets, they have become targets of cyber criminals. Not surprisingly, OMIC has identified a clear increase in the report of cyber claims.
Read more in Eye on OMIC in the Digest.
Board changes and a new Chair announced for 2023
OMIC will be without the incredible talents of several Board and Committee members whose terms expire at the close of 2022.
Dr. Denise Chamblee distinguished herself as one of the most influential Board members in recent memory, serving on the Executive Committee and chairing the Risk Management and Nominating Committees.
Dr. Bradley Fouraker similarly impacted OMIC as one of the most active voices on OMIC’s Board for more than fifteen years. His advocacy in both his home state of Florida and nationally has won him accolades among his peers at both OMIC and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Pauline Merrill has contributed extensively and fiercely defended the interests of ophthalmology throughout her tenure at OMIC. Drs. Chamblee, Fouraker, and Merrill will be profoundly missed.
Finally, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Drs. Ho Sun Choi and Michelle Ying for their years of service on OMIC Committees.
Dr. Robert Gold of Maitland, Florida will assume leadership of OMIC in 2023
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Gold of Maitland, Florida, has been elected Chair of the OMIC Board of Directors beginning 1/1/2023. Learn more about Dr. Gold here.
OMIC forms partnerships with private equity organizations
Although the vast majority of OMIC’s physician policyholders are not currently employed by practices owned and operated by private equity (PE) groups, we recognize this is an emerging trend in entity ownership within the ophthalmic community.
While it is impossible to fully understand how these organizations will impact the future of ophthalmic practice, we have engaged with PE stakeholders, demonstrating how OMIC is the best choice for their coverage needs as well as risk management advice and consultation.
To date, OMIC has partial or exclusive partnerships with seven PE organizations. We encourage you to contact us early in the process if your practice is considering being acquired by a PE entity. We will then be able to advocate for the continuation of your OMIC coverage.
OMIC declares another large dividend to be paid in 2018
We are pleased to announce a 20% dividend for policyholders renewing in 2018.
Since 2007, OMIC has declared dividends totaling more than $80 Million. To put this into perspective, on average, each of our physician policyholders has received cumulative credits equal to twice their annual premium. We are thrilled that our insureds have received two of the past ten years of coverage at essentially no cost – a tremendous return on the investment in our company. This good news is a direct result of our policyholder’s commitment to good medicine, which helps lower claim trends over time.
Our consistent return of premium places OMIC significantly ahead of our peer medical professional liability companies and is in line with a long-standing commitment to fiscal conservatism. From 2012 to 2016 alone, OMIC’s average yearly dividend of 20.8% far exceeded the average of 6.6% for other malpractice carriers. And, unlike many of our multispecialty competitors, we have returned all premium above what has been needed to prudently operate the company and maintain a strong surplus; and we’ve done so at the earliest opportunity.
The 2017 dividend will be payable as a 20% premium credit to insureds who renew their insurance with OMIC in 2018.
In addition, OMIC is also happy to announce that rates in all states and territories will remain unchanged throughout 2018. OMIC’s premiums in recent years remain quite competitive and we will do everything in our power to keep them as low as possible going forward.
We know that our success depends on our insureds continuing support of OMIC. Thank you for your loyalty and we hope you will spread the good news to colleagues who have not yet joined our company.
A new logo and brand strategy as OMIC looks forward
We are excited to introduce a new OMIC brand strategy and corporate logo. In anticipation of our 30th anniversary year in 2017, OMIC has placed a renewed emphasis on defining our core missions in order to best serve the needs of our policyholders. In 2012, we also began an exhaustive process of forming a new strategic plan that will prepare OMIC for a rapidly changing environment in both the insurance and eye healthcare communities. Part of that process was to showcase and celebrate our unique identity.
Our new logo features an abstract graphic that suggests the shapes of overlapping eyes and symbolizes a commitment to a forward-looking vision for OMIC. It signifies the common and shared goals of OMIC, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and our policyholders to support, defend, and enhance the practice of
ophthalmology.
With one eye focused on our past, we reflect on OMIC’s origins. Our founding members and sponsoring organization, the Academy, laid a foundation for what would become the largest and most trusted insurer of ophthalmologists in America. We reaffirm our mission, first articulated by OMIC’s leaders in 1993, to serve the needs of Academy members by providing high quality medical liability insurance products and services.
With another eye looking forward, we will respond to the changing needs of our policyholders and strive to be a leader in the medical liability community by promoting quality ophthalmic care and patient safety.
In the coming months, members of the ophthalmic community will learn more about OMIC’s accomplishments and milestones as we celebrate our 30th year of serving ophthalmology. In addition, our branding strategy will focus on OMIC’s future commitments to our specialty.
