Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
MDAdvantage Insurance Co. of New Jersey
Lawrenceville, N.J.
Age: 50

At a time when state policymakers considered the medical professional liability insurance market in New Jersey in crisis, Patricia A. Costante, then president and CEO of Lawrenceville, N.J.-based professional liability company MIIX Group Inc., developed a plan in 2002 to form a medical professional liability insurance company to ensure availability of insurance for New Jersey physicians. Facing doubts on all fronts, it took her just six weeks to raise the nearly $30 million—in individual physician contributions of $25,000 or less—required by New Jersey state regulators to form MDAdvantage Insurance Co. of New Jersey. Since then, her company has become one of the leading providers of medical professional liability insurance in the state—protecting and defending its physician policyholders should the need arise as well as serving physicians as an advocate, an educator and a partner in the delivery of health care. In 2006, the company received an Outstanding Employer Award from the New Jersey Business & Industry Assn.

Advice to young women: "My first advice is to encourage young women to enter the field. I am often struck by the paucity of women in high-level insurance and reinsurance positions. It is a field that values a myriad of business skills and offers wonderful opportunities for advancement."

Professional role model: "I have been fortunate to have many role models. Among them, Paul J. Hirsch. He serves as the vice chair of the MDAdvantage board and has been closely involved in every aspect of developing the company. He is a solid, strategic thinker and portrays the wonderful calm of a successful surgeon. Paul has helped me to see the value in viewing each situation strategically, to respond rather than react."

What would you change: "The cyclical nature of the industry is the one thing I would like to change. Physicians would be better served by stable pricing rather than the sharp escalation in rates that follow unfavorable years and the discounting of rates that follows years with favorable results."

2007 Women to Watch Home