FAQs

Conventus Medical Professional Liability Insurance currently covers the following:

• Medical Doctors
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
• Podiatrists, Non-physician providers (Advanced Practice Nurses & Physician Assistants)  and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) as long as they are working for a physician member we insure

Conventus currently does not cover the following:

• Chiropractors
• Dentists
• Midwives

Any questions about your insurance should be directed to our Underwriting Department:

To contact us through mail, please use the following address:

Attn:
Conventus Inter-Insurance Exchange
900 Route 9 North, Suite 503
Woodbridge, NJ 07095

Any billing questions should be directed to Daniel Dubicki, Staff Accountant, at (877) 444-0484 x 7248 or at ddubicki@conventusnj.com.

Please call the Claims Department at (877) 444-0484 x 7556

A Certificate of Insurance was included in your member policy package to copy and distribute whenever you are required to show proof of current insurance coverage. If you need to request a new certificate, please contact Diane Griffith by email at conventus@conventusnj.com or by phone at (877) 444-0484 x 7378.

Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty (PLIGA) is an association in the State of New Jersey that establishes a pool of money to pay claims of insolvent insurance companies. By regulation, all admitted carriers in New Jersey are required to be a member of PLIGA and contribute funds for its operation.

If you change your business address, please send a letter to Conventus Membership Services via fax at (732) 791-9431 or email to conventus@conventusnj.com. Please include new address, phone, and any other relevant contact information.

Members will be notified 30 days in advance of annual membership meetings.

If you add new procedures or change the parameters of your practice during the course of the policy year, your coverage must be adjusted to reflect the change in risk exposure.

Notify your broker or Conventus Underwriting immediately when there are changes in your practice or specialty. Underwriting will need to determine if there is a change in risk exposure and if a premium adjustment is necessary.

Prior to the start date of a new physician, you need to submit a completed application for that physician regardless of whether they plan to purchase their professional insurance coverage from Conventus. If the physician wishes to become a member of Conventus, coverage is dependent upon underwriting review and acceptance of that particular physician.

If a physician in your group decides to leave the practice, notify your broker or Conventus Underwriting immediately. If the physician has an existing policy with Conventus, they can take their coverage with them. If they have a claims-made policy, contact us or your broker to arrange for consistent coverage as they move forward.

Notify your broker or contact Conventus Underwriting immediately if you would like to change your coverage limits. Underwriting will review the requested changes and give you information about proceeding with your request.

Tail coverage is included in your policy at no additional cost in the event of death, permanent disability, or retirement. For retirement, the physician must be at least 55 years of age and have been a member of Conventus for a minimum number of years (depending on the situation) prior to the date of retirement. In all other situations, tail coverage can be purchased. Contact underwriting for your options.

Tail factors are filed with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (NJDOBI). Tail coverage premium quotations are established based upon the conditions and pricing of your current coverage. If you elect to leave Conventus and wish to consider tail coverage, contact us immediately so that our underwriter can generate a tail coverage premium quotation for you.

Any return of capital is subject to the approval of the Attorney-in-Fact and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.

Any member of Conventus Inter-Insurance Exchange (“Conventus”) who was an active member on December 31st of “the Plan year” is eligible to receive a dividend payment.

The total dividend component is divided among all eligible members based upon three factors:

1. The eligible member’s premium in relation to Conventus’ total annual premiums
2. The member’s owner capital contribution
3. Initial year of membership

The check will be issued in the name of the policyholder or the name shown on the Assignment of Surplus Contribution Rights Form, where applicable.

If the owner capital contribution for your policy has been paid by and assigned to a group name, the dividend check will be made payable to the group. If a physician paid his/her own owner capital contribution and there is no assignment to a group name, the dividend check will be made payable to the individual physician member.

Dividends are paid to members based upon annual earnings, as well as Board and regulatory approvals; therefore, future dividends cannot be guaranteed.

Dividend checks will be sent to the current billing address without forwarding options. Checks not cashed within 180 days of issue will be voided. Checks returned and not cashed will be eligible to be reissued upon request by the member. After one year from date of issuance, unclaimed funds will be reported to the State of New Jersey in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of the Treasury – Unclaimed Property Administration.

Members who have previously made all or part of a required owner capital contribution; who have experienced a qualifying event of death, disability, or retirement (“DDR”) according to current plan rules; and to whom an Extended Reporting Period endorsement has been previously issued are eligible for return of owner capital contributions. Qualified events must have been reported in writing to Conventus prior to or during the previous calendar year to be eligible for the Conventus Owner Benefit Plan (COBP).

Additionally, Distinguished Members are eligible for return of their owner capital contribution. Distinguished Members are defined as those who have been members for five continuous years; reached the age of 55 as of December 31 of the most recent preceding year; have paid their owner capital contributions in full; and have been members as of the date declared for the current plan year.

Under the current plan, owner capital contributions are returned to members based upon the Company’s annual earnings, as well as Board and regulatory approvals; therefore, future returns of owner capital cannot be guaranteed.

This will depend on the amount available for owner capital return as provided for by the Owner Benefit Plan. If funding for the Plan is insufficient to make full owner capital returns to eligible members, distributions of owner capital returns will be made on a pro rata basis and each eligible member’s owner capital account will be reduced by the amount of the owner capital returned. Each owner capital account will remain open until it has a zero balance, at which point it will be closed and no further owner capital distributions will be made.

If a member has a past due owner capital contribution obligation and is eligible for return of an owner capital contribution due to a qualified event, the outstanding owner capital contribution obligation will be waived.

For policies where an Assignment of Surplus Contribution Rights is on file with Conventus or provided by the group at Conventus’ request, checks will be issued in the name of the current assignee. Any valid amendment to the original assignment will void prior assignment agreements. Any waived owner capital contribution amounts will not be eligible for return.

If a qualifying event occurs after a member has left the Company, the physician or his/her estate must report the event in writing to the Attorney-In-Fact (NIP Group) during the calendar year to be eligible for inclusion in the following year’s owner capital return distribution. Plan criteria must be met and required approvals must be received.

Owner capital return checks will be sent to the current address that Conventus has on file. Checks not cashed within 180 days of issue will be voided. Checks returned and not cashed will be eligible to be reissued upon request by the member. After one year from date of issuance, unclaimed funds will be reported to the State of New Jersey, in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of the Treasury – Unclaimed Property Administration.

Please note: Disputes as to owner capital assignment or eligibility will be determined by the current Conventus Owner Benefit Plan (COBP) rules.