In today’s lawsuit-friendly society, having a medical practice of any kind without insurance coverage is just not intelligent. However, even for those that know the importance of insurance well enough, it can be a bit confusing to choose the right plans, as they vary, depending on the nature of the medical practice in question. To make matters simpler, here is a brief guide to choosing the four basic kinds of insurance policies that every medical institution should have from day one.
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional liability insurance is exactly what it sounds like, but depending on the nature of the medical practice, it can vary quite a bit in definition and coverage. In general, though, this is the basic form of insurance every medical practitioner needs as it will provide coverage in the unfortunate situation that a patient has filed a medical negligence or medical malpractice suit against the institution or any particular physician. In such instances, professional liability insurance provides financial coverage for the associated legal costs, settlements, additional medical treatments, etc.
Incision Indemnity Insurance for Surgeons
Incision indemnity insurance is essentially the same as medical indemnity insurance, but it’s exclusively designed for practicing surgeons, or physicians thinking about starting a specialist medical practice which will offer surgical procedures. As operating on any patient always involves risks, irrespective of how good the surgeon is, this is a mandatory step.
Since Incision Indemnity is an insurer that works closely with top surgeons in the medical field to develop their policies, they are carefully designed to provide the best and the most secure coverage in all of the UK. Getting an Incision Indemnity membership from this popular insurer is the most comprehensive way to protect the interests of your practice and your patients simultaneously, in case the institution or a physician associated with the clinic finds themselves on the receiving end of a medical malpractice lawsuit. The formalities can be completed online in order to get an instant quote. Do check their official site for more information about the whole process and the details of the coverage that each policy provides.
Property Insurance
If you run a medical institution, the property itself needs to be insured as well. By property, we mean the medical and diagnostic equipment, supplies, furniture and, of course, the very building itself (even if you are leasing it).
As the property investments necessary in building any medical institution are very heavy, protection against theft, natural disasters and fire damage is most certainly a necessity. Depending on the policy, though, property insurance can cover certain other possibilities as well.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance
When you are running an institution, it cannot possibly be run by you alone, so as long as you have employees, you need to have worker’s compensation insurance or employer’s liability insurance to protect your business and your employees at the same time.
You would be surprised at how fast a loyal employee can turn around and sue you for something as simple as slipping and falling while at work within your clinic. Then, of course, there is the genuine possibility of your employees getting injured or infected while on duty at the clinic or representing it elsewhere.
In both situations, whoever may or may not be at fault, worker’s compensation insurance will cover the employee’s medical expenses and at least a portion of their wages, until the time they are able to get back to work.
These four types of protection are a must for medical practices, but you should also consider business auto insurance and practice overhead insurance soon after.
Category: Advice
