Hospital Corporation of America and Subsidiaries - Page 35

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          and a board member and Secretary of Parthenon, wrote Parthenon's            
          president on September 11, 1986, and advised that, as an                    
          insurance company subject to State regulation, it was critical              
          that Parthenon require premiums to be paid when due.  Petitioners           
          paid the 1986 premiums during late 1986.                                    
               Workers' compensation premiums charged petitioners by Ideal            
          Mutual and, subsequently, by Continental, were set under State              
          law by rating bureaus, which are organizations that compile                 
          statistical loss information to determine actuarially appropriate           
          premium rates.  By statute in the relevant States, those rates              
          were subject to adjustment on the basis of the actual loss                  
          experience of the individual insureds.                                      
          Reserve Setting                                                             
               Hospital professional liability insurance, like other                  
          medical malpractice coverages, is relatively "long tailed"; i.e.,           
          claims are often not reported until months or years after the               
          occurrence claimed to have resulted in liability.  Because the              
          full extent of liabilities from reported claims may take a long             
          time to develop, reserves against future liabilities constitute             
          the bulk of total incurred losses during the first several years            
          following a policy year.  Incurred but not reported (IBNR) losses           
          account for a significant portion of those reserves.                        
               During the years in issue, Parthenon employed consulting               
          actuaries to assist in determining the appropriate reserves to              





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