In 1996, Kari Adams joined Physicians Insurance as a Claims Representative, taking her place at a desk with a stack of open claims files. As she marks her 30-year anniversary at PI this summer, we delve into how her personal conviction, expertise, and compassion have shaped a claims approach that stands apart in the healthcare professional liability arena.
Over the past 30 years, Adams has steadily progressed through every level of the claims function, serving as Claims Manager, Claims Director, and Vice President before assuming her current role as Senior Vice President of Claims, where she leads PI’s entire claims operation. While Adams brings an impressive blend of credentials and hands‑on expertise to her work—she holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Phoenix and an Associate in Claims (AIC) designation from the Insurance Institute of America—when colleagues are asked about her impact, they quickly point to qualities no credentials can confer: Adams has a keen instinct for what physicians need when they face a claim, and an unwavering commitment to delivering it.
Building on Principle
The fact that Physicians Insurance is a mutual company—owned by its Members, not shareholders—provides an immediate advantage in driving the best possible outcomes for Members. “We are not beholden to shareholders,” Adams says. “Rather, every decision we make comes back to the question, What does our Member need, and how do we get there? That is the only calculus that matters.”
In practice, that means PI won’t settle a case simply because it’s convenient or cost-effective to do so. When a claim lacks merit, PI defends against it—fully. This commitment has produced an impressive track record: PI has achieved a 92.3 percent public-trial win rate for Members over the past decade, a testimony both to the strength of PI’s legal strategies and to the quality of the medical care its Members deliver.
PI commits more resources to claims defense than do many of its competitors, engaging national and local experts without financial caps, deploying focus groups to test litigation strategy and jury receptivity before trial, and partnering with specialized, highly accomplished medical malpractice defense firms. “When a physician has practiced good medicine, it is our job to make that crystal-clear to the jury,” Adams says. “So when we walk into a courtroom with our Member, we have done everything possible to prepare. The expert insights, the strategy, the Member support—it all comes together.”
Staying Close—and Staying the Course
Medical malpractice claims commonly stretch on for years. From the moment a complaint is filed, through the resolution of a case—whether through settlement, dismissal, or trial—a PI Claims Consultant is always there to guide our Member.
This continuity is by design. Adams has long maintained that intensive individual attention is critical to effective claims management—and PI has structured its claims department accordingly. Caseloads per Claims Consultant are kept well below the industry average, a decision that allows each professional to bring a depth of knowledge and focus to cases and Members that is simply not possible when juggling higher-volume caseloads.
The experience of PI’s claims professionals is also extraordinary. The claims department averages approximately 25 years of industry experience. They draw on decades of knowledge—and firsthand experience navigating evolving healthcare and liability environments—in an industry where experience undoubtedly drives better outcomes.
PI has also created a unique claims-review process by engaging a Claims Committee, an all-clinicians panel representing multiple specialties, which reviews all significant cases and views claims through a clinical lens. “When our Claims Committee physicians are reviewing the facts of a case alongside our claims team, the conversation shifts,” Adams says. “They ask different questions, surface different considerations—and their insights consistently sharpen the strategy we bring to bear.” This physician-anchored committee is a vital cornerstone of PI’s claims program, ensuring that decisions are consistent, balanced, and grounded in shared expertise.
Mitigating Invisible Costs
Throughout her career, Adams has gained a deep understanding of the personal costs involved when a physician is on the receiving end of a lawsuit. She understands the disruptions a complaint can introduce into a practice, the weight that’s carried through years of litigation, and the relief when a case is finally put to rest. That knowledge has sparked the development of important resources beyond the legal and strategic ones her department brings to claims. When a Member faces a claim, PI connects them with peers who have been through the process—physicians who can speak from experience about what to expect—as well as with professionals trained in coaching and counseling, who provide confidential support through the prolonged and stressful claims experience.
“Behind every claim file is a physician whose career, reputation, and peace of mind are in play. We never lose sight of that,” Adams says. “Every touchpoint—every call, every meeting, every update—is an opportunity to show our Members that we are genuinely in this with them. That matters just as much as achieving a successful outcome.”
Throughout Change, a Constant Purpose
Overseeing medical malpractice claims can be stressful. The cases are complex, the stakes for physicians are high, and the landscape is constantly evolving. Over decades, Adams and her team have navigated the growing complexity of healthcare claims, the changes in litigation and jury dynamics, and the searing impact of social inflation and increasingly sophisticated plaintiffs’ tactics. PI’s approach is designed to surmount all these challenges. Adams and her team learn and adapt through every evolution—always maintaining the same clarity of purpose that has grounded PI since its founding.
“Kari’s leadership embodies the great strength of our mutual organization,” says Dr. David Carlson, President and CEO of Physicians Insurance. “The depth of resources and expertise we devote to each Member, our willingness to defend good medicine when it is not the easy path, our enduring financial stability—all ensure that we can make a significant positive difference in the work and the lives of the physicians who place their trust in PI.”
Kari Adams and the claims team offer concrete advantages: a stellar public-trial win rate, caseloads that ensure individual attention, claims professionals with decades of experience. And they bring all-important intangible benefits as well: Members have the assurance that on that dreaded day when a claim arrives, they’ll have experienced people by their side, supporting their needs and fighting rigorously for them and in the defense of good medicine.
“PI’s purpose—to protect, defend, and support our Members—is the operating standard against which we measure every decision,” Adams says. “Despite all the changes in healthcare and liability, that, we know, will always stay the same.”