CHART is best understood as an insurance company that is 100% owned by its members, and whose members are all community hospitals. Our mission to stabilize medical malpractice costs and reduce risk is made possible through our structure as a risk retention group (RRG).  Thanks to lower overhead, the RRG offers lower costs.  In addition, it provides active governance by hospital executives and management by insurance and patient safety professionals for better control of risk and claims.  In an RRG, each participating hospital is an owner, and has a say in decisions that affect the entire group.  The participants share in profits and equity, and receive dividends regularly.

And because we control costs, premiums are lower than for traditional malpractice insurance.  CHART’s underwriting evaluation system strives to credit members for what they are doing today to make patients safer and control risks.  CHART underwriting is equitable and our members are part of the process through committee participation.

In the area of claims management, we’re structured to create better and more reasonable outcomes.  Our Claims Committee is staffed by three CHART board members, four risk management officers, and an outside physician and outside coverage counsel.  Unlike commercial insurance, decision making isn’t left solely to the insurance company; the hospital’s management is intimately involved in the process.

Healthcare risk retention groups make it possible to emphasize ongoing training and sharing of best practices.  The goal is more and better patient safety tools to control risk which, in turn, may lead to fewer lawsuits; and ultimately, to reduced premium costs.  The long-term result is greater stability in a notoriously unstable market.