The Doctors Company is well-known throughout the industry for our dedication to providing the best imaginable service to our members. With the industry’s largest claims database, we have an unparalleled understanding of lawsuits against healthcare practitioners. Nearly a quarter of our professional staff at The Doctors Company provide claims services to our members, and it is by no way a stretch to say that they deliver one of the most critical, if not the most critical, service of all. When our members’ livelihood, reputation, and ability to practice good medicine are at stake, it is the vital work of The Doctors Company’s Claims team to protect them with the industry’s strongest malpractice claims defense.
Our members agree, which is clear year after year through their responses to our Member Experience Surveys. In 2025, 94 percent of our members agreed that The Doctors Company provides them with relentless, aggressive defense.
What’s more, we learned through last year’s survey that The Doctors Company has a Net Promoter Score (NPS)—or score that measures customer loyalty by looking at customers’ likelihood of recommending us to their peers—of 77. This rating is among the top customer loyalty scores in the U.S. and is significantly higher than the scores of such reputable brands as Apple, Costco, and USAA. And through surveying the physicians we have defended against malpractice allegations, we found that among that group, The Doctors Company’s NPS score rises even more to 92—a top-notch score that indicates extremely high member satisfaction with our Claims team’s work on their behalf to protect their reputations.
These incredible rankings would not be possible without the superhuman of efforts our Claims team, so allow us to introduce you to our Claims team leaders.
Claims Interim National Senior Vice President
Brittnie Hayes, JD, is Interim Senior Vice President of Claims at The Doctors Company. Ms. Hayes is committed to The Doctors Company’s values of reducing risk, improving healthcare, and protecting healthcare practitioners. Ms. Hayes began her career in the courtroom, defending practitioners and healthcare entities in medical malpractice claims. She later transitioned into the insurance sector, where she has spent over a decade successfully leading Claims teams.
As a former trial lawyer defending doctors in the courtroom, Ms. Hayes brings a valuable perspective to litigation management and strategies for successful claims management and outcomes. She brings her hands-on experience to analyzing data, analytics, and team performance, dedicated to supporting processes that work and implementing change when needed.
Ms. Hayes holds a bachelor's degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a juris doctor from Creighton University. She is also a published author, most recently explaining trends in medical malpractice claims in Medical Economics.
Claims Regional Vice Presidents
Mark Savoie is a Vice President for The Doctors Company Region I, where he leads a team of Claims professionals. For the past 27 years at The Doctors Company, Mr. Savoie has been living the mission statement of protecting doctors. His knowledge and experience in medical malpractice litigation in Southern California in both state and federal court helps members of The Doctors Company achieve the best possible outcomes for their cases.
Mr. Savoie is on the California Medical Association Amicus Committee and oversees all the cases on appeal for Region I. Prior to joining The Doctors Company, he worked for two other medical malpractice insurance companies in Southern California starting in 1992. Mr. Savoie earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1990.
Todd Virkus is a Vice President for Claims in The Doctors Company’s Region I. He began his insurance career in 1993. Since that time, Mr. Virkus has worked in Claims, Underwriting, Marketing, and Sales.
Mr. Virkus has lectured on the subject of litigation education at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons® Annual Conference and other forums. He also co-authored a chapter in the publication The Business of Plastic Surgery, 2nd Edition, 2020. With his extensive claim’s expertise, Mr. Virkus assists The Doctors Company to achieve its objective of vigorously supporting and defending physicians and other healthcare professionals through all phases of the litigation process.
Mr. Virkus earned a bachelor’s degree in public management at San Diego State University.
Mike Tamucci is the Vice President of Claims in Region III for The Doctors Company. Mr. Tamucci oversees the states of Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. He has worked in Claims for 40 years, and specifically medical malpractice for 38 of those years.
Mr. Tamucci began his medical malpractice career with a physician-owned company in Birmingham, Alabama. He worked for a physician-owned company in Atlanta, Georgia, for 26 years, ascending to the position of Vice President of Claims. He then worked for a third-party administrator based out of Orlando, Florida, and another physician-owned company located in Raleigh, North Carolina, before joining The Doctors Company in 2019.
Mr. Tamucci and his team work tirelessly and with great passion to get the best results possible for each member of The Doctors Company. He uses his background and years of experience to provide extensive insight and knowledge to help defend and protect the practice of good medicine.
Mr. Tamucci earned his bachelor of arts degree and minored in journalism at the University of Montevallo in Alabama.
Key Claims Successes in 2025
- Over a five-year period since 2020 and culminating in 2025, the total number of claims against our members has been reduced by 17 percent—an incredible feat that speaks to our claims prevention efforts for our members.
- Over the past three years, The Doctors Company defended our members in nearly 550 claims cases that were brought to trial and won over 85 percent of them.
- The total number of claims closed without indemnity paid increased to 76 percent in 2025.
What Happens If You Are Notified of a Claim?
Most healthcare professionals will face at least one claim in their career, so it’s not a matter of if you will get sued, but when. From the moment you have been officially served legal documents, like a summons or complaint, the lawsuit has commenced. If you are a member of The Doctors Company, it is critical for you to report any claim—or potential claim—to us immediately.
From there, we assign a claims specialist to handle the claim, contact you within 24 hours of that assignment, and have a defense attorney(ies) designated for representation. At this point, our team of seasoned member advocates will be there by your side to support you throughout the litigation process. And when you go to trial, we go to trial! Our claims specialist attends the trial with you each day to offer support and guidance.
The key to winning is preparation—and we take every opportunity to seize an advantage, which means preparing you to be a strong, active participant in your own defense. Our experts can guide you through legal jargon, deposition engagements, arguments, verdicts, and ways to cope with and manage the stress caused by being involved in malpractice litigation.
This includes the opportunity for you to virtually attend one of our Surviving Litigation Seminars, which we strategically hold with attorneys and presenters who are very familiar with the local venue, the potential jury pool, and other key aspects of the state or region that could influence the outcome of a trial. Ultimately, you will be given unmatched litigation training tailored to the environment where your trial will be held.
If needed, our national experts are brought in to collaborate with the region and hold roundtable talks, attend strategy sessions, and provide broader review and input on the case from a national perspective. This includes a team of national strategic consultants who are assigned to all high-exposure and complex cases. Each expert averages more than 30 years of claims experience.
So, bottom line, whether the claim is strictly regional, or regional with national implications, we’ve got you covered. Our claims philosophy at The Doctors Company is to do the right thing for our members, at the right time, and prepare you so that when you have no other choice but to enter a courtroom, you are ready to fight and win.
The Doctors Company has a series of videos to explain what healthcare practitioners need to know about litigation; and of course, if an incident occurs that may lead to a claim or if a claim has already been made against you, please report the claim or incident immediately.
