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Why you need to review your Surgery Insurance

 

Like any financial arrangement it is very important to review your Surgery Insurance regularly, preferably every year.

What should my surgery insurance cover?

Most policies will typically provide the following covers as standard:

  • Contents Insurance
  • Practice Money
  • Doctors Bags
  • Signs & Nameplates
  • Equipment Hired, Leased or Borrowed
  • Employers Liability
  • Public/Products Liability

You may also wish to consider the following:

  • Buildings Insurance (including cover against subsidence)
  • Deterioration of Refrigerated Drugs/Vaccines
  • Consequential Loss (Business Interruption)
  • Failure of Public Utilities
  • Legal Expenses (including HMRC investigations/V.A.T. disputes)
  • Assault by Thieves or Violent Patients
  • Fidelity Guarantee (Fraud or Theft by Employee)
  • Terrorism Insurance
  • Extended Personal Injury
  • Computer Breakdown
  • Engineering Breakdown
  • Electrical and/or Engineering Inspection Service

What it won’t typically cover is:

  • Wear and Tear
  • Deliberate Acts (loss or damage arising from a deliberate act by you or your partners)
  • Loss of Market Value (loss or damage caused by a decrease of market value beyond the cost of repair or replacement)
  • War & Terrorism (unless specifically added)

There is usually an excess (the first part of a claim that is not covered) which can vary depending upon the different covers.

As most Practice Managers/GP’s are not insurance experts you should choose a Broker with specialist knowledge in this field.  They will be able to expertly discuss your requirements with you and recommend a contract that best suits your specific circumstances.

You should ensure that your cover is relevant to the practice’s current circumstances, and, as the practice evolves, so should your insurance. When you make any alterations or buy new equipment you should contact your Broker to review your policy and make the necessary changes. For example, if you are having an extension built or the practice is being renovated, you may need to extend your public liability insurance.

The cost of cover is important but like most things in life you get what you pay for, so concentrate on making sure the practice, your staff and patients are comprehensively covered. Many Insurers will give a discount for additional security such as a burglar alarm and/or smoke alarm that is connected to a central monitoring station.

 

Like most insurances of this type the main factors that influence the premium are location (i.e. local crime rate /proximity to a water course/area prone to subsidence), claims history, and security (i.e. does it have a NACOSS installed and maintained alarm/CCTV/deadlocks to all exterior doors etc). If you choose to have any optional extras that are available under a plan then of course you will pay more for these.