If you’re a medical practitioner, chances are you’re familiar with locum insurance. In fact, you may already have purchased such practice cover. But how old is your policy? Are you certain it will provide enough cover in today’s economy? Because an accident or injury could strike at any time, it’s important have adequate protection. Here’s some information about how best to safeguard the practice you’ve worked so hard to establish.
Practice Cover: Key Features of Locum Insurance
When thinking about locum insurance, it’s key to determine accurately the amount of practice cover you require. First, take an honest, detailed assessment of the income and outflow in your practice, you’re certain to discover that the are much greater than you imagine. Next, decide whether you could afford to pay a locum as much as £8000 per month when you are absent from your practice. If you can’t afford to pay this substantial amount out-of-pocket, then obtaining locum cover becomes an urgent necessity for you. Sometimes practitioners who have partners make the mistake of assuming that their partners will cover them. This may be true, to some extent, for limited periods of time, but usually only a few weeks. Then, the practice urgently needs to engage a locum, which may cost more than £2000 per week. Do the math: If you’re off work for 3 months (12 weeks), your locum fees will amount to £24,000 as a bare minimum, and are more likely to be much higher.
Practice Cover: More Reasons to Obtain It
Some medical professionals believe that they can obtain reimbursement under the Primary Care Trust Locum Reimbursement Scheme, but the reality is that very few qualify, leaving most to pay locum expenses out-of-pocket. Even assuming that your practice does qualify under the scheme, the reimbursement amount you receive will be dangerously inadequate. The scheme provides only 26 weeks of cover, after which the reimbursement reduces by 50%. Few practices could survive under that financial burden. Doesn’t locum cover make more sense?
Practice Cover: Final Aspects to Consider
If you’re a salaried physician, practice manager, or practice nurse, locum cover is available for you as well, and could make all the difference in maintaining the financial heath of the practice in which you work. Many physicians make the mistake of not covering these essential members of their practices, and leave themselves open to negative financial consequences. With locum cover, a practice will continue to receive payments, even when key personnel are absent, for up to as many as 12 months. A typical locum policy may pay benefits from week 5 through week 52 of a key employee’s absence. After that term, it’s possible to obtain supplemental cover, but the cover periods vary, so do check your policy carefully. Key staff members should be covered under the same terms as the principals, and should be included in any group discount the insuring entity offers.