Doc-owned insurer TPAC foldsBusiness First of Columbus - by Carrie Ghose   The physician-owned health insurer that launched last year – saying it could provide better health outcomes at premiums competitive with the insurance giants – has folded, Columbus Business First has learned. The Ohio Department of Insurance confirmed it obtained an order Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to liquidate The Physicians' Assurance Corp., dubbed TPAC. Messages seeking comment were left with CEO Brett Bäby, Chairman Dr. Brett Wheeler and other board members. TPAC had a reserve of $419,000 as of June 30, $2.1 million below the required state minimum, Insurance Department spokeswoman Carly Glick said. It lost $2.4 million in the first six months of 2009. "They don’t exist any longer," she said. "The company’s been deemed insolvent. We've determined they were operating in a financially hazardous manner." Under the order, the state takes possession of the Worthington company's assets and will operate it under court supervision until policyholders are transferred to new carriers, she said. A state insurance fund will pay claims of up to $100,000, and anything above that amount must go before the state liquidator. TPAC had more than double the state minimum reserves, $5.6 million from about 100 physician investors, when it was approved for business in early 2008. It started writing policies in earnest last fall, and by the end of January had enrolled 170 employers representing 4,300 members, ahead of its goals. Upon liquidation, TPAC insured about 8,000 members in 350 groups. Michael D'Eramo, an early investor and former board member, said board members updated him on the precarious situation over the weekend. "They had some very unusual claims anomalies," he said. It's an unfortunate fate for a Central Ohio company that created dozens of jobs and wanted to keep covered members healthy while taking less of a profit, said D'Eramo, CEO of Rubicon Group, a management cooperative for physician practices. "It's conceptually all the right things," he said. More information on the liquidation can be found at the Insurance Department Web site here and the Ohio Insurance Liquidator office here.