Does Your Dental Office Insurance Have A Cavity?
One of the first questions that the independent insurance agents at Insurance For Texans ask of any dentist office is how long has it been since they have reviewed and discussed their needs with their current insurance provider. All too often, we are told that it's been years or maybe even never. Frankly, that's unacceptable and not very Texan if you ask us.
Our Dental Office Insurance is designed just for dental practices like yours because of the flexibility we have available depending upon your needs. Our comprehensive insurance plans protect you and your practice against loss of revenue due to unexpected catastrophic events that create expenses that you can reduce or eliminate through the transference of risk. These solutions to real world, everyday problems are easy to put in place while keeping your budget in balance. This process helps maximize your profits over time and allows you to focus on taking care of your patients without worry.
The 5 Common Kinds of Insurance Coverage For Dental Practices
To properly protect your dental practice, you’ll want to ensure that you have several different kinds of insurance coverage in place so that when things go wrong they don't put a big dent in your pocketbook.
Let's take a look at the top five types of coverage that we help dental practices put in place to protect themselves from major loss down the road.
Business Owners' Policy (BOP)
A typical dental office has a few key components that need to be covered by its BOP. These include coverage for their physical assets, which includes things like their building, equipment, and furniture; as well as their liability exposure, which covers them if someone were to get hurt at their clinic.
Business property coverage can help protect your business's physical assets, including its offices and equipment. If you own your office building or are responsible for it per your lease agreement, the property coverage for it will be separated from your business personal property so that you can adequately cover the replacement of both in a total loss. Make sure that you include the recommended water coverage for dental practices on your BOP so that you don't get caught with water flowing everywhere.
If someone gets injured at your dental practice, general liability coverage can cover any costs associated with that injury. For example, if someone trips on the way to the exam room and injures themselves enough to require hospitalization, this coverage can pay for their medical bills.
After those two items are covered on your BOP, there are typically many additional items that can be included. Some of which we will cover below.
Malpractice Insurance
Dental Malpractice Insurance, otherwise known as Professional Liability, is in place to cover claims made if you make an error or omission in providing services to a patient. This coverage will help provide defense of the claim as well any judgments ordered if you are deemed liable. It's important to cover both the practice entity as well as the individual dentists with the policy since all parties could be named if a suit is brought against you or your practice. It is very important to not have a gap in coverage for this line item.
Cyber Insurance
Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly common; therefore, it is extremely important to take steps to protect yourself from these attacks. It is also extremely important to have a cyber liability insurance policy in place.
If there’s ever a data security incident at your office, having data protection coverage could help you get back up and operating quickly and efficiently.
A cyber liability policy can cover HIPAA violations, customer notifications, credit card fraud investigation fees, forensic investigations to determine what data has been accessed, and much more. It's also important to understand how the policy pays off those financial liabilities as there are nuances to laws that can get you in hot water if you choose to self-insure.
In today's environment, it's becoming increasingly important to not only understand what your cyber vulnerabilities are, how you can reduce them, and also how to mitigate financial ruin if something is compromised. And that is done through a comprehensive and robust Cyber Insurance Policy.
Workers' compensation insurance
While most states require workers' comp for dental offices, in Texas that is not the case. Our state government does not require the coverage to be carried out by an employer. However, they do incentivize choosing to carry workers' comp by limiting your exposure to work-related injury expenses if they do arise.
If an employee is injured on the job, workers comp can cover the medical bills associated with that injury along with lost wages that the employee might need. The policy will also eliminate the ability to sue you for those items assuming that there is no gross negligence on your part. Because of this, the small premiums are wildly more economical than risking being sued for large bills and lost income. Quite simply, it's buying safety and peace of mind for pennies a day.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
EPLI is there to protect employers like yourself against lawsuits brought by their employees for alleged violations of federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and similar conduct. These kinds of claims are expensive to defend and judgments can grow quickly. Having EPLI in place will allow you to be defended by a legal team that specializes in this case law and also allow the financial burden of these claims to be eased immediately. No one ever thinks that this will affect them, but business owners should not jeopardize their future by not carrying EPLI.
Others Types of Coverage To Consider
Business Interruption
An unplanned event can disrupt your business operations. Your insurance company may help cover any losses caused by an accident or natural disaster. For instance, if your building goes up in flames, your insurer might pay out a claim for lost profits without business income coverage.
Commercial Auto
Commercial automobile insurance is required for any vehicle used by a dental practice. It covers the costs associated with accidents involving your business vehicle including bodily injury or property damage liability. Even if you do not have company-owned autos it is important that your policy at a minimum includes hired and non-owned autos. This protects the business in the event an employee is using their personal vehicle for business purposes (i.e. bank drop) and they are involved in an accident. It does not provide liability for the employee but does protect the assets of the business should you be named in the claim.
How Do I Obtain The Right Insurance For My Practice?
One of the single most important things that you can do is to do a thorough review of your practice needs with an independent insurance agent like Insurance For Texans. They can provide guidance on what your needs are and offer solutions to those needs. Being able to lean on years of experience and multiple insurance companies allows them to offer you the most unique and affordable coverage available today. Contact us at 469.789.0220 or email us at info@insurancefortexans.com to get started right away.