Whether it’s protecting against damage to premises, or safeguarding against the loss of stolen property, the right specialist insurance policy can help to ensure your dental practice continues to run smoothly.
Premises and contents
Perhaps the most obvious insurance policy for anyone running a dental practice is premises and buildings insurance, which will cover the fabric of a building and extend to outbuildings and car parks. In order to ensure you could rebuild in the event of a fire or flood, you should consult a qualified surveyor who would be able to advise on the rebuild cost of your property. Even if you rent a building, you will still need to make sure you have cover for those items you are responsible for, like flooring, air conditioning units or any improvements you may have made to the property.
You should make sure your contents insurance covers the total cost to replace any items. That might seem obvious, but we see many cases where this is either massively overstated, leading to a waste of premium, or where the value is significantly under estimated, which could lead to punitive claims conditions being applied to a claim. To kit out a dental surgery from new could cost as much as £150k, with modern 3D X-ray machines costing tens of thousands of pounds. It is also worth remembering that the dental chair, perhaps your most important piece of equipment, will need to be installed and plumbed in properly and could cost between £15k and £20k
Practices should regularly review the contents of their surgery to make sure they have adequate insurance and a good time to start this habit is when you’re buying new equipment. If you purchase new equipment, it is essential to review insurance cover so the replacement value is accurately reflected in any policy. Some insurers may add new terms and conditions relating to additional security measures. If you’re leasing equipment this could also be added to the policy, which may prove more cost effective than purchasing a separate stand-alone policy from the leasing company.
A simple walk through of the surgery, noting down the contents of each room and the full replacement value of each item, should also help you plan cover.
In addition to medical and electrical equipment, other items to consider are paintings and other artwork as well as any petty cash on the premises.
Loss of income
If you are affected by fire and flood, for example, then business interruption cover will ensure that any additional expenses and costs of working are covered. If you need to rent temporary premises, or hire equipment until replacements arrive, then these costs can be covered by business interruption cover. It can also cover the cost of any loan repayments if your business is disrupted.
However, when our appraisers have visited surgeries, they found many either didn’t have any business interruption cover, or the level of cover was so inadequate it could have a massive effect on the surgeries’ ability to continue practising.
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement, protecting the surgery from claims made by employees, or former employees, if they are injured or become ill and hold the surgery responsible. Similarly, public liability insurance will protect you if a patient or visitor is accidentally injured on surgery premises. Legal protection insurance is used by many practices to protect them in the event of legal action.
For many dental practices, it’s about more than just ensuring you have the right level of cover. Key practice staff need to be trained to ensure that in the result of theft or severe damage, you are still covered by the terms of your policy.
When we visit practice managers, we often see the practice does not comply with their insurer’s security requirements. Since many policies stipulate a minimum level of security requirement, if you fail to adhere to this you could find a theft would not be covered at all, leading to a significant financial loss.
At almost half of the surgeries we visited, key staff did not know how to shut off the water. Damage from burst water pipes is one of the largest causes of insurance claims. It’s particularly important during winter, when frozen pipes can cause thousands of pounds of damage.
It is important that you take time to make sure you have the right level of cover for your practice. Consider not just the physical assets of a surgery, from premises to contents, but also the various scenarios that might interrupt your business. Take advice from a specialist insurance provider that understands the complexity of your business and ensure you’re not left regretting putting off that all-important insurance health check.