Insurance health check

Whether it’s protecting against damage to premises, or safeguarding against the loss of stolen property, the right specialist insurance policy can help to ensure your dental practice continues to run smoothly.

Premises and contents

Perhaps the most obvious insurance policy for anyone running a dental practice is premises and buildings insurance, which will cover the fabric of a building and extend to outbuildings and car parks. In order to ensure you could rebuild in the event of a fire or flood, you should consult a qualified surveyor who would be able to advise on the rebuild cost of your property. Even if you rent a building, you will still need to make sure you have cover for those items you are responsible for, like flooring, air conditioning units or any improvements you may have made to the property.

You should make sure your contents insurance covers the total cost to replace any items. That might seem obvious, but we see many cases where this is either massively overstated, leading to a waste of premium, or where the value is significantly under estimated, which could lead to punitive claims conditions being applied to a claim. To kit out a dental surgery from new could cost as much as £150k, with modern 3D X-ray machines costing tens of thousands of pounds. It is also worth remembering that the dental chair, perhaps your most important piece of equipment, will need to be installed and plumbed in properly and could cost between £15k and £20k