If you are a dental professional, you are more than likely aware of the importance of dental indemnity insurance. It’s not only a requirement of your General Dentist Council (GDC) registration, but it will also protect you and your career in the event of you needing to make a claim.
Myth 1: My Nurses Aren’t Covered
Fact: If you purchase your dental indemnity insurance as a practice owner, any dental nurses that work for you you will be indemnified for any potential negligence claims, compliant with GDC regulations.
Myth 2: There Is Only One Type of Dental Indemnity Insurance
Fact: There are actually two types of dental indemnity insurance available from most insurance providers.
An ‘occurrence-based’ policy will provide indemnity for treatments which were provided during the policy period. If an incident happened during the policy period, the insured will be covered regardless of when the claim is made – which could be years into the future.
A claims-made policy provides coverage for any claims made during a specific period – which is usually the duration of the policy. After that, the cover ends. In order to maintain cover for any potential new claims, the policy has to be renewed for as long as any potential new claims could be raised.
Myth 3: The Most Expensive Dental Indemnity Policies Are Always the Best
Fact: You can’t always spot the best dental indemnity policy by the price, so the cheapest and most expensive policies aren’t always the best. It all depends on your circumstances and what you need cover for.
It’s a good idea to review your current policy and what it includes and identify the fundamental elements, what is simply just nice to have and what you think is missing. Then, compare these to other insurance quotes.
Myth 4: I Don’t Need Dental Indemnity Insurance
Fact: All GDC registrants must be covered by some form of dental indemnity insurance in order to practice. If you were to fail to have appropriate dental indemnity insurance whilst practising, you could potentially find yourself barred from work.
Myth 5: Dental Indemnity Insurance Doesn’t Cover all Dentistry
Fact: Dental Indemnity Insurance is a unique policy designed exactly for dentists and dentistry. It’s specifically for UK dentists and the wide range of work they’re required to carry out on a day to day basis. The cover is for all things that are usually required for dentistry, including tooth whitening and dental implants (including sinus lifts and bone grafts), the dental speciality of oral surgery and the use of cosmetic injectable procedures through the face.
Though, it’s important to keep in mind that as dental indemnity insurance is for dentists who deliver dentistry, the medical speciality of oral and maxillofacial surgery is not covered. Procedures in the neck or other parts of the body are not included, and certain types of specialised cosmetic facial procedures (even when they are on the face) are similarly excluded.
Myth 6: It’s Hard to Get the Dental Indemnity Cover I Need
If you are struggling to get the cover you need, simply work with a specialist broker to make the process easier. A specialist broker will explain to you any queries you may have. This is vitally important, especially as you already have to keep in mind so much through running a practice. It’s easy to let keeping track of everything, as well as the finer details of different policies and providers, force you away from the fundamentals of your work – treating patients. Don’t let this be the case.
Here at All Med Pro, we will be more than happy to help you understand all the different insurances out there and ensure that you are fully compliant with all legal requirements. Be sure to contact us today.
For those looking for information regarding Dental Nurse Indemnity Insurance – please head over to the link provided.