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Rich Weston, CIC, Operations Manager
What does Rich Weston, CIC, like best about his job? “Finding the Right Insurance for All Aspects of Your Professional Career.”
When it comes to insurance for physicians, there are always new things to learn. And Richard Weston is up for the challenge. Whether it’s new technologies in the operating room or exploring new career paths, Richard will find physicians the coverage they need.
As operations manager for Physicians Insurance, the majority of Richard’s role is helping physicians and physician groups with their professional liability insurance needs. “It’s dynamic. The science is always changing, the professional liability model is ever-changing,” he said. “You never get to the point where there’s nothing new to learn.”
Richard enjoys the learning, and his clients benefit. “We understand the nuances of what physicians do,” he said. “Other agencies might not know the difference, for example, between gastro major and gastro minor, and that there’s a big difference in the premium. We do, and we make sure they’re covered without overpaying.”
Richard has been learning and honing his expertise in insurance for physicians since 2002, when he started at Physicians Insurance after more than a decade in commercial insurance. “Right away, I felt like this agency was a good fit for me,” he said. “Our clients are in a noble profession. And by helping them with their insurance needs, I feel like I’m indirectly helping the patients they care for, too.”
Insuring Physicians Wherever Their Careers Take Them
Outside of work, Richard loves good food. Now that his children are grown up, he and his wife enjoy exploring New England and its culinary gems. “Everyone thinks of Boston’s restaurants, of course. But you can find really wonderful restaurants all over if you know where to look.”
Knowing where to look is a skill that helps Richard at work, too. He manages the surplus lines policies for Physicians Insurance, where he finds policies that cover physicians who pursue professional interests beyond direct patient care, which are typically not offered in the standard professional liability marketplace.
“Physicians have expertise and interests that allow them to pursue opportunities outside of the physician-patient relationship. These activities expose physicians to risk but are typically not covered by a standard professional liability policy,” Richard said. “It’s my job to find them coverage so they can explore those other professional pursuits.”
Those other pursuits covered by surplus lines policies might include serving as a medical director of a medical spa, giving expert witness testimony, or providing consulting or advising services.
“A physician may want to participate in a clinical trial, for example. Professional liability insurance covers physicians in their role of providing professional care to a patient, but clinical trials are a different matter. They’re taking on an experimenting scientist role. That’s a different relationship and a different role and carries different risks,” he said. “You can’t generally find insurance for that in the standard marketplace, so I go to specialty markets to find insurance that addresses their activities and risks as a clinical trial investigator.”
Insurance to Protect Your Practice
Richard also writes policies for the practice itself, including liability coverage and property casualty insurance to protect the practice, supplies, and equipment.
“We have pediatric practices, for example, that are storing perishable vaccines. If a tree comes down on a power line — which happens a lot here in New England — they might have hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of vaccines at risk,” he said. “In insurance, this is called spoilage, and I advise my clients to make sure they’re properly covered.”
Because of his deep knowledge and experience in insurance for the health care field, Richard understands how to work with clients to assess their exposures and find the right coverage. His clients are then able to pursue their professional goals with confidence that they’re appropriately protected.
“We take a lot of pride in the attention we give our clients,” Richard said. “We’re very specialized in what we do.”
For more information on how Physicians Insurance can support your practice and help you mitigate risk, visit www.piam.com or call 800.522.7426.
