Risk trumps reward.

• Author: Watson, Jr., Thomas Craig
• Position: Letters - Letter to the Editor

Senior Editor Ed Martin does good work in reporting much of the firestorm surrounding the cost of medical care in North Carolina and the availability/cost of medical professional-liability insurance (cover story, July). I would not pretend to have all the answers, but I do have the benefit of some experience in this area.

Folks who have never paid particular attention to the insurance industry and the cycles of feast and famine, all too familiar to many of us find it convenient to ignore underlying principles that make uncertain events insurable. It is quite easy to find plenty of experts who would tell you that insurance companies "profiteer" or "manipulate rates and/or investments" to maximize profits at the expense of their policyholders. My experience has shown me that the exact opposite is true--that insurance companies and their agents and brokers will take every competitive opportunity to add to their customer list. It's fairly simple: Until we sell something, nothing happens.

There is no national insurance organization providing medical-malpractice coverage in all 50 states. Fortunately for physicians, there are choices in most states such as Medical Mutual here in North Carolina. Our agency...