Many insurers are developing new products and acquiring expertise to meet the needs of the increasingly complex risk landscape for healthcare bodies. One such organisation is IronHealth, a subsidiary of Ironshore.
Some insurers see many opportunities in the healthcare sector as bodies struggle to deal with the changing landscape and the new risks this brings. One of these is IronHealth, the specialty healthcare unit of Ironshore, which has launched a raft of new products this year to meet the needs of these companies.
Matthew Dolan, president of IronHealth, says that the business believes that as the operating models of healthcare providers change, they will need more help handling the associated risks.
“We believe that the healthcare reforms will be a hugely impactful event for the industry and part of the change they will go through will also mean a higher need for a greater degree of the integration of risk.
“With hospitals and physicians coming much closer together, for example, and with new regulations and other changes, there will be a need for a much more comprehensive insurance product suited to these organizations’ needs.”
With this in mind, in July 2012 IronHealth launched a modular policy form to address potential gaps in insurance programs for integrated delivery organizations. The Integrated Delivery Organization (IDO) policy will specifically address the multi-line liability insurance exposures of healthcare organizations seeking to integrate care delivery and care management/financing vehicles, which can provide a broad spectrum of diverse medical services and payment processes.
In a nutshell, the policy allows healthcare organizations to consolidate separate liability programs into one insurance product, offering integrated protection for sector-specific liability risk.
Dolan says the launch of the product was important for IronHealth as he feels it will show healthcare risk managers that the insurance industry can provide solutions to keep up with their needs. “As their risks and challenges become more complex, we want them to know they won’t outrun us. We will be very responsive to their needs.”
IronHealth has also this year entered into an agreement with the Sullivan Group, an international healthcare risk management and patient safety organization, to help clients manage risk exposure in the high risk field of obstetrics. Under the agreement, the Sullivan Group will be considered a preferred vendor, offering expertise in the field of obstetrics to assist IronHealth clients at preferred rates.
Dolan says this arrangement reflects IronHealth’s preferred approach to such matters. “We will look to work with the right organizations to provide these services to our clients based on what they need,” he says.
Finally, IronHealth has entered into a similar agreement with Reputation Partners, a national corporate communications consultancy, to help clients manage reputational risk associated with financial and operational crises.
“IronHealth is committed to continuing to innovate in terms of the products and services it offers the healthcare sector,” says Dolan, noting that the insurer would be launching another product in early October, aimed at yet another niche within healthcare risk management—watch this space.
insurers, IronHealth, Risk, multi-line liability insurance, Healthcare
