INTRODUCTION TO P.I.E.
Professional Insurance Exchange Mutual, Inc. (PIE) is a mutual insurance company which provides professional liability insurance to Utah dentists only. P.I.E. has been in business since September 1978 and at the time it was organized was the first operational dentist-owned self-insured reciprocal insurance exchange in the United States. Dr. Charles E. Parkin, along with other visionary Utah dentists, determined that it was time for dentists to control their own destinies when it came to setting malpractice insurance premiums and handling claims in the dentists’ best interest. From there PIE grew under the management of its Board of Directors and guidance of Drs. Max Conley, Donald G. Mantyla and Stephen M. Burton into the premier professional liability insurance company in the state of Utah. As of April 30, 2014, PIE became a mutual insurance company.
PIE currently insures 90% of the dentists practicing in Utah. The total number of insured under our policy was 1,292 as of 12/01/2017. P.I.E. is currently managed by a dentist CEO, Dr. Richard C. Engar, authorized to act on behalf of the membership in managing the company and handling claims, etc. The company is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors consisting of nine dentists from throughout the state of Utah with over 300 cumulative years of experience as practicing dentists. The company also owns a licensed insurance agency, Professional Assurance Corporation, through which a number of insurance products such as office property and casualty, workers compensation insurance, or disability insurance can be made available to the membership.
Professional Insurance Exchange Mutual, Inc. publishes a quarterly newsletter which contains suggestions on ways to avoid malpractice situations. Online copies of prior newsletters are available on this website. Lectures have been given by P.I.E. officers in dental society meetings, study club settings at both U. of Utah and Roseman Schools of Dentistry and at courses sponsored by the Utah Dental Association or Academy of General Dentistry. Every few years the Company provides a risk management update to our insured as well. The use of written informed consent has been emphasized for the past several years. Dentists are also advised to avoid criticism of colleagues and to practice within the limits of their training. We have found that the vast majority of Utah dentists are interested in providing optimum quality dental care to their patients and are interesting in upholding the excellent reputation that dentistry has been able to establish in our society.