Talking to GPs about locum insurance you come across all sorts of reasons why they don’t have cover, ranging from the cost to the ‘fact’ that ‘insurance doesn’t pay out’ to ‘I’m uninsurable’ to ‘we cover for each other’.
‘Insurance doesn’t pay out’ is probably the most emotive so let’s cover that one today.
Claims data isn’t widely published in the locum insurance world but we have nothing to hide! We have declined only two claims: one person didn’t disclose a shoulder injury which occurred 3 weeks before taking out insurance and, some months later, claimed for surgery on her shoulder. The other was someone who took out insurance knowing that he was undergoing emergency surgery the following day which, again, he failed to disclose.
Balance this against the claims which have been paid, ranging from the GP who fell while walking the dog, breaking her wrist, to the GP who was off for 9 months with a bad back, to the dentist who had to do jury service.
Claims vary in amount, with most being for a few thousand pounds and some running into tens of thousands. One of our current claims relates to a doctor, who had never had a day off sick, and who crashed his motorcycle resulting in a fortnight in hospital and several weeks off work. The locum insurance claim went through quickly and the practice has been paid £9,000, with more to follow. Having paid a (tax-relievable) premium of just over £6,000 the practice’s focus has been to support their colleague in his recovery and return to work, rather than worrying about the costs to the practice of his absence.
Longer term is the claim made last year relating to the doctor with cancer who was unable to work for 5 months and who returned to work on a phased basis. The claim exceeded £36,000, covering both the period during which she couldn’t work at all and the period when she worked part-time and the practice received a proportionate benefit.
The latter practice’s insurance has since been renewed with us and the only effect on the premium was that we were unable to give them the 5% no claims discount they would otherwise have been eligible for.
When you’re considering whether locum insurance is a good idea for your practice remember that the time when it comes into its own is when you have to claim.
Which is not a good time to try to eat the pudding you didn’t get around to making.
Please call me if you want to discuss your situation on 023 8051 3286.
The opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author on behalf of Practice Cover Limited and they do not constitute individual advice.
