NEW PLAYER ENTERS TEXAS MARKET:

Announcing its entrance into the Texas medical liability insurance market, Advocate, MD Insurance of the Southwest said its improved coverage options and excellent rates are proof that tort reform efforts ushered in last year with the passage of Proposition 12 are starting to work. Advocate, MD is a medical professional liability insurance company that was authorized by the Texas Department of Insurance to begin underwriting business in Texas earlier this year. The company said it provides doctors and their patients with 25 percent more insurance protection than the most popular policy limit that has been available from competitors in the state of Texas. Advocate, MD is an admitted insurance carrier and is a member of the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guarantee Association. The company said it insures all specialties in all areas of the state. Standard limits of coverage are $250,000 per incident and $750,000 for the aggregate. Prop.12 is a constitutional amendment limiting non-economic damages to $750,000, with no more than $250,000 coming from physicians and $250,000 from any one hospital or nursing home. The law does not limit measurable economic damages such as lost wages and medical bills.