Meet Our Underwriting Team Leaders

The Doctors Company’s expert Underwriting team ensures our industry-leading medical professional liability (MPL) coverage is priced appropriately and responsibly and has the innovative features our members need to protect their licenses, reputations, and practices. Learn more about their important work and the leaders who guide the way.

Underwriting an Application

For those who may be new to the underwriting process, here’s a short explanation of the underwriting of a policy.

Underwriting is both a science and an art. The science of underwriting involves actuarial numbers, using mathematical and statistical analysis to assess the risk being considered. Actuaries use data-driven methods to predict future events and associated costs.

Once the actuarial analysis has concluded, that’s when the art form we call underwriting comes into play, in which underwriters apply that actuarial analysis to the unique factors of each individual risk—and ultimately evaluate the narrative, or “story,” of the risk that was provided in the application.

The main question underwriters generally have when reviewing an application is: What is different about this particular risk and how should those unique factors within the narrative affect exposure and pricing?

Answering this question requires subjective judgment when the underwriter has “the complete story.” Once an application can be considered complete, and the underwriter feels comfortable with all of the details of the risk being submitted, the underwriter can then make a pricing decision based on both factual evidence and intuition, after fully assessing the risk and understanding the needs of the applicant.

That’s underwriting of a policy explained in its simplest form. There are thousands of nuances that can complicate underwriting a risk.

Teamwork Philosophy

Our underwriters are here for you and want to reach the point where they are able to say, “Yes, we’ll write that risk,” because it will be a win-win for both The Doctors Company and you. And the results of our 2025 Member Experience Survey confirm our members agree on this win-win: 93 percent of our responding members agree that once that quote is placed in front of them, it is a fair price offered by The Doctors Company.

This friendly underwriting philosophy starts at the top and permeates down to all of our underwriters and analysts, which is why we would like to introduce you to our exceptional Underwriting leadership team that puts this philosophy into practice on a daily basis, both nationally and regionally.

Chief Underwriting Officer

Todd Zeiter is Chief Underwriting Officer at The Doctors Company. With over 35 years in medical professional liability insurance, his expertise covers underwriting hospital and medical risks, reinsurance management, creation of risk retention groups and captive insurance companies, loss portfolio transfers, ratemaking, company integration, and business development.

Underwriting Portfolio Management National Vice President

Cindy Grim, FCAS, is Vice President of Underwriting Portfolio Management at The Doctors Company. She brings extensive actuarial and underwriting experience across healthcare professional liability and alternative risk structures, including rate making, fronting arrangements, captives, risk retention groups (RRGs), and loss portfolio transfers.

Underwriting Strategy and Transformation Vice President

Laura Archer, CPCU, is Vice President, Underwriting Strategy and Transformation, advancing underwriting strategy, integration, and transformation across MPL. She has 30 years of professional liability experience with a concentration in medical and dental accounts.

Underwriting Regional Leaders

Deanna Christofferson, RPLU, AIS, Vice President, Underwriting, has nearly 30 years’ tenure with The Doctors Company, with most of her career spent in underwriting writing large custom multispecialty/state accounts.

Sonya Ziegler, CPCU, RPLU, Vice President, Underwriting, has worked in medical professional liability insurance for 38 years. Her role includes oversight and handling of the region’s custom and high-profile complex accounts. Ms. Ziegler brings deep medical malpractice underwriting expertise across physicians, hospitals, and allied health risks and related specialty coverages.

Blake McLendon, RPLU, Vice President, Underwriting, has 23 years of experience working in underwriting with a focus on small to mid-sized accounts. He is experienced in patient compensation fund states and has spent his time managing a large, geographically diverse territory.