The Power of Tribute
Turning Policyholders into Lifelong Partners
One of the main differences between stock companies (like ProAssurance) and reciprocal exchanges (like The Doctors Company) is the ability of reciprocals to create subscriber savings accounts on behalf of their members. The Doctors Company refers to this program as the Tribute® Plan. Created in 2007, it is a financial loyalty program designed to reward members for practicing good medicine through sustained commitment to and excellence in patient care. The Doctors Company uses this program to focus on rewarding member loyalty.
The Tribute Plan is funded directly from the capital of The Doctors Company, not from member premiums. The current level of funding set by the Board of Governors is 10 percent of a member’s eligible annual premium. The plan has received continuous annual funding since its launch, unlike the copy-cat programs of many MPL insurers who have tried to replicate the Tribute Plan but have then had to pause or end their programs. The Doctors Company remains steadfast in honoring its promise to reward members, and this commitment sets the Tribute Plan apart in providing meaningful recognition of loyalty, excellence, and the practice of good medicine.
Members become eligible for a Tribute award when they have five or more years of continuous coverage with The Doctors Company, reach age 55 or older, and permanently retire from the practice of medicine.
To date, more than $200 million in Tribute awards has been paid to over 15,000 members nationwide, an industry-leading milestone. In 2021, the largest single award to date was issued—$264,808 to a neurosurgeon in Florida. Today, the highest current balance is in excess of $300,000, and more than 5,500 members hold balances exceeding $25,000, underscoring both the value of the program and the scale of commitment. The Doctors Company is the only medical liability insurer that celebrates the careers of medical professionals with rewards of this magnitude.
Will my clients be eligible for the Tribute Plan?
Post-close, when your client transitions to a policy issued by The Doctors Company or starts or renews on a ProAssurance policy,* The Doctors Company will start to accrue a Tribute balance for them. This initial balance will be based on their annual premium amount multiplied by the Tribute funding rate current at the time. The five years of continuous coverage required for Tribute eligibility will commence on the date your client transitions to a policy issued by The Doctors Company or the post-close date on which your client renews on a ProAssurance policy, whichever is earlier.
To receive any Tribute award distribution, your clients must be insured by The Doctors Company. To qualify for a retirement distribution, your clients must be 55 years of age or older with five continuous years of coverage from The Doctors Company (including any post-closing start or renewal of a ProAssurance policy) and permanently retire from the practice of medicine. See full terms and conditions.
Who is eligible to participate in the Tribute Plan?
An eligible member is an individual listed as a “Named Insured” or “First Named Insured” on a professional liability insurance policy issued by The Doctors Company and in force on or after January 1, 2007. Certain Named Insureds do not participate in the Tribute Plan. These include business entities, hospitals, emergency rooms, and ancillary insureds. In addition, policyholders whose coverage with The Doctors Company was terminated prior to January 1, 2007, including those who obtained extended reporting coverage, do not participate in the Tribute Plan.
Are advanced practice clinicians eligible to participate in the Tribute Plan?
Yes, if an advanced practice clinician has their own standalone policy, they are eligible to participate in the Tribute Plan.
Are those who are in part-time practice eligible to participate?
Yes.
Are insureds with TDC Specialty Insurance Company eligible to participate?
No. The Tribute Plan is available only to members who have coverage issued by The Doctors Company. However, a doctor and/or physician who is a former member and who rejoins The Doctors Company after obtaining coverage with TDC Specialty Insurance Company (with no gaps in coverage) will have their Tribute Plan balance and years-of-continuous-coverage credit reinstated.
If my client suspends coverage, will their participation in the Tribute Plan be affected?
Their Tribute balance will not receive additional allocations while their policy is suspended, and the suspension period will not count toward the distribution requirement of five years of continuous coverage. When they reinstate their policy, their share of the loyalty pool will be adjusted to account for the suspension period.
Where can I learn more about eligibility for the Tribute Plan?
You can contact Member Services at Tribute@thedoctors.com. A full FAQ on the Tribute Plan is also available on The Doctors Company website.
*The phrase “a ProAssurance policy” includes reference to any admitted MPL policy issued by a subsidiary or affiliate of ProAssurance Corporation in force immediately prior to transitioning to an admitted MPL policy issued by The Doctors Company, an Interinsurance Exchange.
Transitional Branding and Logos for The Doctors Company and ProAssurance
Following closing of the acquisition making ProAssurance part of The Doctors Company, we are updating our traditional ProAssurance logo to reflect this transition.
Effective day one of the closing, June 26, the new “Day One” logo now appears on all highly visible digital platforms including websites, email signatures and templates, social media platforms, PowerPoint presentation slides, digital letterheads, etc. This “Day One” logo will be used through January 1, 2027, and will be updated as necessary to reflect the integration using The Doctors Company branding, its associated logo and colors.
Day One Logo:
There are currently no updates to the logo for types of physical media or pre-printed collateral that incurs an expense, such as business cards or letterheads, brochures, merchandise, or similar items.
Also please note that per The Doctors Company Legal department there are no changes to the logo on policy or regulatory documents, which will continue to feature the original ProAssurance logo.
Also on Day One, banners announcing the acquisition on all TDC Group and ProAssurance Group websites will change to a banner reflecting closure of the acquisition. The page will redirect to a custom landing page (TheDoctors.com/ProAssurance) with comprehensive FAQs that are specifically targeted to Agents and Brokers as well as ProAssurance Insureds. The Doctor Company’s Leadership team, including position titles and headshots, is also featured on the page.
Through the end of 2026, ProAssurance’s external-facing websites, including the ProAssurance Group site and social media pages, will continue to be available with the same style and logos reflecting “business as usual,” with transition planning to be determined and updates announced as they become available.
Agents, brokers, and medical societies are encouraged to update their websites to reflect that ProAssurance is now part of The Doctors Company and replace ProAssurance’s old logo with the new one.
Please reach out to AskMarketing@ProAssurance.com if you require a new company description for your website.
About The Doctors Company
The Doctors Company Named in 2026 Ward’s 50
The Doctors Company has been named in the 2026 Ward’s 50 top-performing insurers. We were chosen out of nearly 2,900 property-casualty insurance companies, and this honor recognizes our outstanding financial results in the areas of safety, consistency, and performance over a five-year period (2021–2025).
50 Years of Advocacy
TDC Group’s dedicated and award-winning Government Relations team has the only medical liability advocacy program covering all 50 states and the federal government. An in-house team of six has been actively advocating on behalf of medical professionals in the United States since the company’s founding in 1976.
The Government Relations team is committed to legislative, regulatory, and judicial advocacy on a full-time basis. In addition to the dedicated in-house team, The Doctors Company engages on-the-ground legislative advocates in more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., and maintains advocacy partnerships in every state.
The sheer volume of legislative activity in the country is extraordinary, with more than 175,000 bills introduced each year in state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. The TDC Group team is equipped to closely monitor all legislation that impacts its members and clients, and aggressively advocates on their behalf. More than 30 states have enacted medical liability reform laws to promote access to healthcare; however, these laws are constantly under attack.
The team works continuously at the legislative level to counter such threats—as well as in the courts with a robust amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief program—to defend these hard-won protections.
Because TDC Group encompasses more product lines than just medical professional liability insurance, the team’s work extends to support advocacy efforts that benefit all members and clients of The Doctors Company, TDC Specialty Underwriters, and Healthcare Risk Advisors.
Learn more about 50 Years of Relentless Advocacy.
The Doctors Company Foundation
Founded in 2008, The Doctors Company Foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Directors. The purpose of the Foundation has been to support patient safety education for healthcare professionals in training and in practice, and patient safety research with clinically useful applications. When selecting grants to support, the Foundation has focused on innovative projects/activities that develop knowledge, techniques, and tools whose application reduces or eliminates risk of adverse events that cause harm to patients while under care.
Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $8.5 million in grants supporting patient safety initiatives. Targeted grant support has enabled these projects to achieve measurable improvements, demonstrating the transformative impact of philanthropy in healthcare innovation.
The Foundation is changing its grant-making criteria and process in 2026, while maintaining its mission to improve patient safety.
Learn more about the Foundation’s work to support patient safety research and educational training in these case studies:
- Identifying and Mitigating Patient Safety Risks Associated with Telehealth Referrals – The MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare received a grant to support the development of an assessment tool to help healthcare systems identify and mitigate patient safety risks associated with referrals from telehealth to in-person care.
- Using Artificial Intelligence to Assess Surgeon Performance in Cataract Procedures – The University of Michigan W.K. Kellogg Eye Center received a grant for the development and implementation of an artificial intelligence (AI) system to evaluate surgeon performance through automated analysis of surgical video recordings.
- Rescuing Patients from Operating Room Complications – Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, received a grant to fund a project to update and expand a crisis checklist compendium that improves clinicians’ ability to rescue patients from complications and minimize harm.
- Engaging Patients, Families, and Caregivers in Safety Reporting – The University of California San Francisco received a grant to fund a reporting tool that empowers patients, families, and caregivers to communicate safety concerns with their care teams.
Charitable Programs
The goal of delivering best imaginable service that is shared by the companies in TDC Group extends beyond its members and insureds to the communities in which the team lives and works. The company’s commitment to strengthening these communities is demonstrated through two major giving initiatives, geared to help tackle the social determinants of health.
The Corporate Charitable Giving program supports nonprofit organizations’ efforts to address community needs through charitable investments. The Employee Gift Matching program supports employees’ own charitable giving, matching their financial donations and volunteer hours to eligible nonprofit organizations of their choosing each year.
In 2024, TDC Group supported 81 organizations with corporate charitable contributions, and matched 577 employee monetary contributions and 1,671 employee volunteer hours to 364 organizations. In October 2024, its Double-Match challenge once again added another level of support to the programs and communities its employees care about. For each charitable donation an employee made during the month of October, the company double-matched the amount, thereby tripling the amount contributed to the employee’s organization of choice. Employees submitted 194 requests to double-match their donations to 159 nonprofit organizations.
In recent years, TDC Group employees have worked through natural disasters, public health crises, and other complex emergencies. Just as they support critical programs responding to the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, including wildfires and hurricanes, they also support programs assisting healthcare professionals, patients, and families facing long-term fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employees are often the first to alert the company to worthy organizations and the ways that everyone can work together for the benefit of local communities through corporate sponsorships. In 2024, employees helped fight food insecurities with the Blessings in a Backpack, which provides food on the weekends for school-aged children across America who might otherwise go hungry.
Through these efforts, TDC Group demonstrates that its mission to serve extends far beyond healthcare. By combining corporate contributions with the passion and generosity of its employees, the company is able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families across the country.
90% of the Surgeons I Sold to Were Average.
Every Single One Was Different.
When people asked my opinion about a surgeon’s skills, the answer was usually, “Average.” Most reacted as if I’d insulted their doctor.
They misunderstood what average means in surgery. Average means the patient gets better. The procedure goes as planned, the complication rate stays low, and the outcome meets expectations. In a field where the stakes are someone’s life, average means predictable—and predictable is everything. Average isn’t an insult; it’s a compliment.
In sales, though, targeting average is anything but predictable.
Most of the surgeons I called on were average. A few were exceptional, and some were downright scary. But here’s what they all had in common: When I sat across from them in a sales conversation, each was different.
A medical degree tells you what someone does, not who they are.
The Avatar Problem
Salespeople love customer avatars—a customer persona that allows you to anticipate pain points, needs, and concerns. They’re useful, but avatars only provide assumptions. They give you an idea of who the prospect might be, but if you talk to the avatar instead of the person, it can backfire.
I couldn’t get time with a new surgeon, Dr. K, for almost a year. When his office called, asking me to come in and show the doctor my knee system, I spent hours preparing demo models and clinical data.
When I walked in with a cart full of instrument trays and presentation folders, he took one look and said, “What is all this? I don’t have time for this stuff. I want to know one thing: Can I do the surgery in under an hour?”
I explained it was hard to answer since I couldn’t predict every variable. He shot back, “I’m faster than most surgeons you work with. Is anyone doing this in under an hour?”
I said yes. That was all he needed. He scheduled the surgery. When I asked if he wanted to review the instruments, he replied, “You’ll be there to talk me through it, right? Then I don’t need to see them now.”
My avatar wanted data and details. Dr. K wanted to know only one thing. The avatar provided nothing for me at that moment; only Dr. K’s priorities did.
Once you start talking to the type instead of the person, you’re already behind. This is especially true in medical professional liability insurance, where the conversation requires a physician to acknowledge something deeply uncomfortable—that despite their training and best intentions, something could go wrong. And they need protection when it does.
That conversation can’t be scripted. It has to occur naturally.
What You’re Actually Selling
Physicians view malpractice insurance like a fire extinguisher: good to have and hopefully never needed. Getting past that requires understanding more than a profile. Are their MPL decisions driven by ego or anxiety? Do they see a lawsuit as a financial or reputational threat? Have they been sued before, and did it make them cautious or dismissive? And maybe most importantly, what are they most afraid of losing?
The answers aren’t found in a demographic profile. They’re found by asking good questions, truly listening, and digging deeper as necessary. Resist the urge to talk about coverage until you understand what this specific person wants to protect.
I spent years watching average surgeons deliver good outcomes. The results were predictable, and average was enough. Selling to those same surgeons, though, was never average, never consistent, and never predictable. Every single one required something different. Average was never part of the equation.
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Written by Mace Horoff of Medical Sales Performance. Mace Horoff is a representative of Sales Pilot. He helps sales teams and individual representatives who sell medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare services, and other healthcare-related products to sell more and earn more by employing a specialized healthcare system. Have a topic you’d like to see covered? Email your suggestions to AskMarketing@ProAssurance.com. |
Our 50th Year
Take the Money and Run
Fifty years. It’s a milestone that deserves more than a single moment of celebration. It deserves a whole year of reflection, gratitude, and storytelling. Each month, we'll be pulling back the curtain on how we got here: the early days and big dreams, the people who shaped our culture, the pivots and breakthroughs, and the countless moments that made us who we are today. Here’s to 50 years—and to everything still ahead. This month we are reminiscing with employees who joined the company from previous ProAssurance acquisitions.
 Dody Heins Lead Claims Specialist Celebrating 41 years with the company in 2026 Dody joined ProAssurance via American Physicians Insurance Exchange
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 Muriel Wolfe Director, Standard Underwriting Celebrating 38 years with the company in 2026 Muriel joined ProAssurance via Physicians Insurance Company of Indiana
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Risk Management Updates
RAPID RISK REVIEW PODCAST
Championing Care: Advocacy that Shapes the Future of Healthcare
In this episode, attorney Remi Stone, Assistant Vice President Government Relations at The Doctors Company, shares insights into the legislative landscape affecting healthcare providers, including tort reforms, third-party litigation funding, and innovative legal protections forpractitioners. Discover how advocacy shapes healthcare access and stability.
This issue examines how physician impairment—from illness, age, or substance use—can increase liability and compromise patient safety.
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A recent opinion from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York provides a timely reminder that the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine have clear limits when individuals independently use artificial intelligence platforms in anticipation of litigation.
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This episode explores the current and future impact of AI on radiology. Dr. Ezequiel Silva discusses AI's benefits, limitations, ethical considerations, and the vital role of physicians in shaping safe AI integration.
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An unexpected clinical outcome can trigger a cascade of emotions and professional uncertainty. In this high-stakes environment, the minutes and hours immediately following an event are often the most defining for your future liability and peace of mind.
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