The concept of medical malpractice was first articulated in 1768 by Sir William Blackstone, who used the term “mala praxis” to describe the improper, unskilled or negligent treatment of a patient that leads to injury or death.

By the middle of the 1800’s malpractice suits were in full swing. Between 1840 and 1860, state appellate courts saw medical malpractice suits rise 950%, while the population grew by only 85%. One of the prominent litigators for both defense and plaintiff sides was Abraham Lincoln.

Protection for physicians came in the form of medical malpractice insurance, first offered at the end of the 19th century.

Fast forward to the 1970s. A flood of claims prompted insurers–most of which were large, multi-line carriers–to dramatically raise their fees. Faced with exorbitant premiums, doctors became insurers themselves, pooling their resources to create physician-owned medical liability companies.

Today, these companies are are facing serious challenges in the market. Brought on by softening demand, increasing expenses, a lack of product diversification, consolidation and acquisitions by commercial carriers, physician-owned insurance companies are experiencing reduced profitability and an uncertain long-term prognosis.

One of these companies decided not to passively accept the inevitable. MMIC, the Midwest’s largest physician-owned insurer, restructured its corporation to become a mutual holding company and invited like-minded insurers to band together for common benefit.

The concept is that member companies aren’t simply swallowed up by MMIC–they are affiliated but remain independent. They retain their governing board and individual brands while leveraging each other’s strengths and resources. As part of the network, they’re able to share resources and expertise, giving them the scale, efficiencies, capital and support to better compete against large stock companies.

MMIC tapped Pollywog to create the brand for this new holding company of insurers who are better and stronger together. Based on this unique positioning, we created the brand name, descriptor, creative tagline, brand identity, Web site design and copy and other materials for the company’s launch. constellation-logo

The Constellation project led to many more opportunities to partner with MMIC on subsequent branding and communications projects–including helping to produce a quarterly magazine, Brink–and we are very happy to be working with this innovative company on a continuing basis.