What protection does practice insurance provide?

The scenario

Dimple, AOP member

“I’m considering buying a practice and would like to know more about practice insurance. Could you advise me on what exactly a practice insurance policy would cover, whether there are likely to be any added extras, and how much I should expect to pay annually?”

The advice

James Pearce, head of commercial development at Lloyd & Whyte

This is a topic that we get asked about a lot, particularly at 100% Optical. Many practice owners are unclear as to what it covers and why it is important to get a bespoke policy, specifically tailored to the healthcare sector. 

The practice insurance we can offer is tuned to the needs of your profession, being specifically designed for optometrists. It covers a number of elements, including: 

Contents

• Covers theft, accidental damage, and malicious damage of property belonging to your practice
• Cover for contents temporarily removed from the practice
• Computer systems (standard cover £50,000)
• Cover for stock, up to contents sum insured
• Equipment breakdown cover
• Low standard excess for most claims.

Buildings

• Covers structural damage to the property
• Covers accidental damage, break in or vandalism, including glass and fixed sanitaryware
• Covers damage due to events such as fire, flood, storm or subsidence.

Theft or damage of cash and cheques

• Money in premises or in transit during business hours (up to £7500)
• Money out of hours while kept in a locked safe (up to £5000)
• Money kept at home (up to £1000).

Added support

Business interruption

• Loss of income covered when you are forced to stop trading due to an insured peril such as fire, flood, storm damage, or failure of public utilities
• Increased cost of working included, giving you the opportunity to reclaim the costs incurred to continue operating from a new location.

Legal expenses

• Legal expenses, up to £250,000 per event
• Cost of preparing a legal defence, including employment disputes, criminal prosecution, data protection, debt recovery or tax investigations
• Also includes employee absence relating to jury service.

Liability cover

• Damage to third-party property or injury to members of the public
• Employer’s liability, up to £10 million
• Public & Products Liability up to £5 million
• Bodily injury or disease sustained by an employee while at work.

Costs

In terms of what you can expect to pay, premiums will vary on a variety of different rating factors and be tailored to each individual client, so everyone pays a commensurate amount to their own circumstances.

Factors such as buildings and contents values, business turnover, geography and claims experience are all rating factors that will be taken into account to provide an accurate premium for each client.

Booking a complimentary appointment with an adviser at Lloyd & Whyte will allow us to review your requirements, in order to provide appropriate advice on your insurance needs.

Lloyd & Whyte Ltd is registered in England No. 03686765. Registered Office: Affinity House, Bindon Road, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 6AA.