New Jersey Medical Malpractice Insurance
The NJ Medical Malpractice market has continued to soften over the last 4 years, resulting in decreasing premiums and better conditions for NJ Physicians. 2012 was a year in which we saw conditions stabilizing. With increased competition, relatively lenient underwriting, and more options, physicians are finding themselves with many solutions to their malpractice needs. This competition in the market place has unearthed many risk-management discounts for physicians and surgeons offering high quality medicine and those taking proactive measures to minimize their risk. These offerings make it even more important to ensure you are working with a malpractice insurance advisor who is familiar with your practice, is looking for ALL opportunities to reduce your annual premiums and ensure you have the best coverage to fit your needs.
A note of caution: While history seems to repeat itself, we do not have to necessarily repeat our mistakes. Premiums and discounts are important, however, more important is long-term stability and value. Our objective at PriMed Consulting is to provide you with the most viable options and competitive premiums, WITHOUT sacrificing long term value and stability.
New Jersey has several carriers to choose from. Here is a brief summary of the NJ carriers we work with:
Gabrielle Lamb

Gabrielle joined PriMed Consulting in February 2011 as a Sales Executive. Gabrielle quickly evolved as a critical member of the executive team. Prior to her role as President, Gabrielle held the position of Sales & Marketing Manager and VP Business Development, managing the servicing of key PriMed clients & leading marketing initiatives. She has grown the marketing department with the recruitment and training of Account Executives, and has played an essential role in their ongoing success. Gabrielle’s expertise is in navigating the new healthcare market, especially with the changes due to reform; understanding the needs of our current clients, as well as creating mutually beneficial relationships with medical societies and organizations. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations Gabrielle also spends time seeking out new markets for individual and group practices, and creating new opportunities for growth.
Gabrielle graduated from Rider University with a Bachelors of Arts in both Psychology and Sociology, and has a P&C license. Gabrielle enjoys her home life too, spending time with her husband, and her two young daughters, Charlotte and Genevieve. Besides her dedication to her career, Gabrielle very much enjoys cooking and spending time with family and friends.
Prem Belani

Prem Belani is the founder and CEO of PriMed Consulting, one of the most reputable medical malpractice insurance agencies in the region. PriMed has been assisting health care professionals in NJ & NY since 1996.
With over 24 years of experience in the insurance industry, Prem has worked extensively with physicians and groups of all sizes and has advised them on their malpractice coverage options. Over the last ten years, Prem has been a frequent speaker on malpractice issues at several medical societies, associations, hospitals and industry events. In addition, Prem has often given presentations educating residents and fellows on malpractice issues, and continues to write articles for various newsletters and societies.
Prem is passionate about spending time with his wife Natasha and daughters Sachi and Sanvi. And when time permits, he enjoys golf, squash, tennis and traveling.
Michael Elefante

Michael is a resident of Lindenhurst NY, and is our regional NY Account Executive. Michael has 15 years of clinical and management experience in healthcare. Michael has first-hand understanding of the everyday life of a healthcare professional and the challenges that arise both administratively and clinically. Michael understands the unique needs of each specialty and the unique needs of hospitals and medical facilities. This makes the process of finding the right place for each client seamless. Outside of work, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and following his favorite professional sports teams.
Olga Mavashev

Olga is a resident of Jamaica Estates NY. Olga enjoys her role at PriMed, with a focus on new business development, as this appeals to her outgoing nature and gregarious personality. Olga has a strong background in clinical and research areas of science, primarily in oncological genetics and neuroscience. She has a M.A. in Biotechnology from Hunter College-CUNY and a Property & Casualty license. She is fluent in Farsi, Hebrew and Spanish, and has an excellent ability to communicate and present complex information in a simplistic manner in both, Russian and English. Olga is married and a mother of three. In her free time she enjoys hiking, playing board and card games, going to the beach, and playing ball games with her family.
Tammy Dahm

Tammy is the Supervisor of our NY and NJ non-standard market accounts. She has been a licensed professional in the insurance industry since 1992. Prior to moving back to NJ in 2007, she owned and managed her own P&C agency in Fort Worth, TX. When Tammy joined PriMed in 2008, she already had an extensive background with physicians and their medical malpractice insurance needs. Due to Tammy’s expertise, she is also an integral part of the NJ standard market team.With a keen understanding of policy terms, Tammy has developed the tools to decipher and convey those terms to the client. This is strength that comes with industry knowledge, while at the same time understanding the concerns of her clients.
Tammy is now enjoying raising her twin grandsons & spending time with her other two young grandchildren. Weekends are spent enjoying all the outdoor activities, fairs, festivals & amusements that attract the 5 & under crowd.
Cindy Brandtjen

Cindy joined PriMed Consulting in May of 2014 as a licensed insurance producer with over 14 years' experience in the standard and surplus insurance markets. While new to the malpractice insurance market, her prior experience servicing clients and managing books of business for Property, Casualty and Health Coverage has helped her excel rather quickly in her position. Cindy has a strong desire to continue to adjust and learn with the continuous changes in the insurance market.
The Brandtjen family, which includes her husband Jim of 20 years, a son and a daughter, enjoy family game nights, camping and cooking together.
Diane Askins

Diane joined PriMed in the Spring of 2013, with six years of insurance experience. Her strong customer service skills are greatly appreciated by our clients and staff. Diane handles all Business Owners’ and Workers’ Compensation policies, while also underwriting NJ malpractice insurance applications. Diane is always eager to take on new challenges, and has now taken on some of the responsibilities of our NY underwriting department. Diane enjoys spending her free time in the company of family and friends, and her dog Oscar.
Lee Higgins

Lee joined the underwriting team at PriMed Consulting in March of 2014. Prior to PriMed, Lee worked for the last seven years in billing and collections in the Medical health Insurance sector. Customer service satisfaction is a priority for Lee and she maintains the highest level of integrity when providing service to her clients.
Lee has earned two Associate Degrees, and is currently finishing up her senior year at New Jersey City University, where she will earn a Bachelors Degree in Business Management. Lee has a passion for her family, long hikes and bike rides and will always smile when referring to her grandsons and beloved Labrador, Hezekiah.
Elizabeth Petroski

Liz joined the PriMed team as an account manager in August of 2015. Liz has over 3 years of underwriting experience in environmental liability and lawyers professional liability. Liz is familiar with working on both the carrier and broker side of insurance and offers a broad background along with a high level of organization in all aspects of her work. Liz is driven to provide superior customer service and brings thoughtful solutions to the table. Liz has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and is always eager to continue learning. Liz enjoys spending time with her husband and family as well as playing with her new and very spoiled puppy, Scarlett.
Lori Kendall

Lori joined PriMed in 2006 and has been an integral part of our underwriting team since. Lori is extremely focused on expanding her knowledge, and has gained valuable experience in working with our clients. Lori treats our dedicated clients and staff with the utmost respect and always conveys a sense of calm in what can sometimes be stressful situations.
Lori earned her Associates degree in Business and Executive Administration from Katherine Gibbs School of Business and also holds a P&C License. After honing her skills in the legal and engineering sector for several years, she later shifted her career path to the customer service side of things as an agent in the cruise industry.
Lori has a fulfilling and rewarding life that divides her time between her career at PriMed and raising her 3 young children with her husband Ramell.
Horror movies with her sister Yvette are on her agenda throughout the year.
Donna Marie Heffern

D. Marie Heffern joined PriMed Consulting in August 2014. Prior to PriMed, Marie worked as a Senior Underwriting Assistant as well as a Customer Service Representative within the insurance industry and earned an Associate’s Degree in Medical Lab Technology from Felician College. Over the years, D. Marie has developed a unique ability to convey compassion and genuine concern for the needs of her clients; this has reflected in her eagerness to service the clients of PriMed Consulting. D. Marie, her husband of 30 years, Bernie and their son Bernard treasure family time and enjoy spending the fall weekends together tailgating at Penn State Games.
Mary Jackson

Mary Jackson is an Account Manager with PriMed. Mary works with our clients on their medical malpractice insurance policies as well as their Workers’ Comp. and Business Owners policies. Mary enjoys the client facing component of the role as she is service oriented. Mary has been in insurance for many years and has worked as an Underwriter in commercial lines prior to joining the PriMed team. When Mary is out of the office, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their young daughter.
Linda Martino

Linda began her career with PriMed as an Administrative Assistant, and has quickly advanced to be our Office Administrator. Prior to joining PriMed, Linda held an Executive Assistant position. Linda is the ‘go-to’ for all the everyday issues we may have as a business. Linda clearly demonstrates a keen ability to prioritize and manage several projects all at once, and is a very good team member at PriMed.