About CBS

A company that cares about chiropractic

A brief history of CBS

CBS was founded to fill a void within the chiropractic profession. The increased frequency of malpractice suits in the United States has made professional liability insurance essential for all doctors of chiropractic. Yet, before the advent of CBS, insurance programs failed to recognize the different types of practices prevalent in the profession and acknowledge that some chiropractors were exposed to less risk of legal action than others, depending on the services provided.

In addition, many DCs were being insured by companies primarily serving the medical professions. These companies had little or no experience with chiropractic practices and were unable to provide the kind of specialized assistance CBS felt was needed.

But the purpose and mission of CBS goes far beyond providing an insurance program. Its mission is to turn the need for insurance into a positive for the profession, by using revenues to support programs and develop tools which further the cause of chiropractic.

Founded in 1989, CBS rapidly grew into one of the largest and most highly respected malpractice insurance programs in the United States, insuring thousands of DCs in nearly every state of the nation.

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The CBS Professional Liability Program

Type of coverage:

The CBS program offers claims-made policies, prior acts coverage, defense costs, and tail coverage. With limits of up to $2 million per claim (a $4 million aggregate) you know you will be protected against virtually any lawsuit filed by a patient. In addition, the policies available through the CBS program are the first in the industry to cover the defense of sexual misconduct allegations.

Premiums:

The cost of premiums is based on the underwriter analysis of risk. In the medical profession, the higher-risk posed to patients by specialized services such as surgery or cardiology are reflected in the premiums. Lower-risk practitioners such as family doctors are charged lower premiums. In the chiropractic profession, the CBS program is the ONLY one to recognize the relative risks of different types of chiropractic practice. In addition, your premium will be lowered if you practice in one of the geographic areas (broken down into counties) which have historically had a lower rate of malpractice claims. As a CBS program member, you will never be expected to pay the same rates as higher-risk doctors.

Underwriting criteria:

As a policyholder insured through the CBS program, you will be supported by the CCP guidelines, which never attempt to enforce a “cookbook” formula for the frequency or duration of care, and never require medical necessity to adjust anyone from infants to seniors. All care is based on chiropractic clinical necessity. CCP's notification of acceptance came from ECRI, an international nonprofit health services research agency and a collaborating center of the World Health Organization.

As a policyholder insured through the CBS program, your peers are chiropractors whose practice purpose is to detect and correct vertebral subluxation, who understand the importance of lifetime family wellness care, and who follow the CCP Guidelines. If you purchase a policy from a company which supports and funds the development of the Mercy document, you may be held to those standards and perhaps be defended by those standards.

The choice is clear. If you are a subluxation-based doctor of chiropractic, it is in your best interest to be represented by an organization which understands the role of chiropractic in health. In other words, it is in your best interest to be insured through the CBS program.

Stability:

In this age of turmoil within the health care and insurance industries, a number of insurance companies have failed, leaving their insureds without coverage. Even those companies which are still in business may not have the financial resources needed to meet future claims. The stability and rating of an insurance company is extremely important. The CBS program is underwritten by the C N A Insurance Company with an AM Best Rating of “A” EXCELLENT.

Client service:

CBS's excellent client service record is a key to its success and rapid growth. All too often, the only contact chiropractors have with their insurance companies are the premium bills they receive. Phone calls go unanswered. Help is never available. Questions are not answered. That doesn't happen with CBS. We pride ourselves on the personal interest we take in the satisfaction of our doctors and strive always to put their welfare first. The CBS Program executives are always available to answer questions regarding risk management and to help you solve your questions/concerns.

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Re-investing in chiropractic

All of us at CBS feel strongly that being a part of the chiropractic profession means more than merely collecting premiums and issuing insurance policies. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to make chiropractic stronger and more successful for all chiropractors and for the health of the world.

That is why we put a large portion of all income generated by CBS into programs, services, and products that will help chiropractors and chiropractic.

Chiropractic Research

CBS is a strong supporter of research that will demonstrate the effects of vertebral subluxation on the human system, validate the benefits of chiropractic care, and position chiropractic as the only health care system which combines a sound scientific basis with a solid philosophical foundation.

Guideline Development

Chiropractic Benefit Services is the ONLY professional liability insurance program which supported the development of the first evidence-based chiropractic guidelines. It put that support into action by being the largest single financial contributor to the Council on Chiropractic Practice, the non-political organization responsible for producing the Clinical Practice Guideline, "Vertebral Subluxation in Chiropractic Practice." CBS is also the ONLY insurance program to vehemently oppose the adoption and use of the Mercy guidelines. We provided absolutely no funding for the development and distribution of the Mercy document, which is often used against chiropractors in court.

Practice Tools

Our job goes beyond selling insurance programs or defending clients against lawsuits. We feel that prevention is a doctor's best "medicine" when it comes to claims of malpractice. Most legitimate lawsuits are the result, not of a doctor's incompetence, but of unrealistic expectations on the part of the patient, or inadequate record keeping by the doctor's office. Both of these issues can be resolved by instituting a few practical and easy procedures into a practice. All CBS members receive a free copy of the valuable "CBS Malpractice Prevention Program," written by CBS founder and CEO Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., and CBS President Timothy J. Feuling. With this manual, chiropractors should be able to reduce their risk of lawsuits and have a greater chance of winning claims that may be filed against them. By following the procedures set forth in it, doctors may qualify for a special reduced premium on their CBS program policy.

Public Education

In conjunction with The World Chiropractic Alliance and The Chiropractic Journal, CBS offers several excellent publications which can help both doctors and their patients. Of foremost importance to doctors is "Chiropractic: Compassion and Expectation," written by Dr. Rondberg and Mr. Feuling. This book will help practitioners, patients, attorneys and others involved in chiropractic clearly understand the precise nature of chiropractic, and what each patient can and cannot expect from chiropractic care.

Political Advocacy

CBS and its leaders are deeply concerned about legal and legislative actions to ensure that the rights of chiropractors and their patients are fully protected. We help support, fund, and promote those organizations, such as the World Chiropractic Alliance, that work with lawmakers on legislative changes that affect chiropractic and with international organizations to help establish chiropractic worldwide.

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The CBS Risk Purchasing Group (RPG)

When you choose Chiropractic Benefit Services, you do more than buy a malpractice insurance policy. Your  Risk Purchasing Group (RPG) fee  makes you a member of the the Chiropractic Benefit Service Purchasing Group.

Risk Purchasing Groups are formed for purposes of obtaining coverage at more affordable rates. The Risk Purchasing Group allows CBS to function as the only program in the world, owned and operated by a chiropractic family. CBS uses a qualified broker to keep the best interests of our program at heart. We are confident in its ability to provide exceptional client service and to negotiate lower prices and broader coverage for CBS members.

The RPG fee has allowed us to create risk management tools, such as the Malpractice Prevention Manual and the weekly CBS Malpractice report, which are available to all CBS members.

Being your malpractice program means more to us than merely selling you a policy. It means doing whatever we can to protect your practice, your assets and your reputation. The RPG is one of the key reasons we are able to do this.

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