The answer to this question completely depends on the type of practice you have and the services you provide.
Firstly it is a legal requirement for any business with staff to have employer’s liability cover. This protects you should an employee of the surgery be injured in the course of any business activities they are required to undertake.
Secondly, you need to consider any contractual obligations you may have in relation to your surgery. For example, if you have a mortgage on a property from which you conduct business activities, there is a high chance that your mortgage lender will specifically require a particular level of insurance. It also makes financial sense to ensure that, should you suffer a complete loss claim, any insurance policy you have covers the complete rebuild and reinstatement costs.
When determining the value of any contents in your surgery, you need to consider the cost of replacing all the contents at today’s prices. The easiest way to calculate them is to use our surgery contents calculator. We recommend that you review your entire practice, making note of all the contents (including, for example, carpets and blinds) and then consider either the price you paid for each item (if it wasn’t too long ago) or find out from a relevant supplier how much they would cost now.
In terms of contents insurance, as opposed to fixtures and fittings cover, anything permanently fixed in your surgery building is covered with the building itself. The things you need to cover in additional 'contents insurance' are items, goods and personal property currently within the surgery (including, for example, carpets and blinds). For further information speak to your insurance adviser.
You will need to invest some time in collating the lists and valuations if you do not already have them – but you will have an accurate valuation if you need to make a claim and you will also have a full inventory if you ever suffer a major loss through fire or flooding. Once you have completed the calculation make sure you review it regularly.
As with any business dealing with the public, ensuring you have sufficient public liability insurance in place is a must. The industry standard cover for this is £5 million, however it is becoming more common to see local authorities and/or CCGs requesting a minimum of £10 million, so it is important to check any specific requirements you need to adhere to.
These covers are important for all types of practice, but there are additional specific elements that are covered as standard depending on the type of practice you own. For example, medical practices would benefit from; deterioration of stock, drugs and refrigerated vaccines, precious metals, personal effects of employees and visitors and assault by patients. Dental practices on the other hand, may benefit cover for; precious metals and dental chairs. Similarly, veterinary surgeries would look for cover for; animals in custody or control; and dental labs would need laboratory equipment cover.
