Alex Conlon is a qualified insurance advisor and director of AMC Insurance. He has been recognised by the Suncorp Group as one of the industry’s next generation of leaders. In this blog, Alex answers some common business insurance queries from doctors.
Questions to ask a broker about insurance cover for your business?
The best way that you can assist a broker is to provide as much information as is reasonably possible to them about your business and its structure. Some brokers will need proposal forms completed for certain types of products. Although not many people like forms, it provides them with an opportunity to appropriately pitch your business exposure to various insurers. This can assist with obtaining the right levels of cover to protect your business, as well as having the most appropriate premium charged by the insurance company. Being prepared with the relevant information about your business (or a business plan for a start-up venture) will make this process run more smoothly.
You may wish to ask your broker whether there are any specific levels of cover that you require to hold. This can be a difficult question to answer for a broker, but if they have an understanding of your contractual obligations to your clients as well as any mandatory limits which might apply to certain types of products it helps. If in doubt, a broker can provide options on varying limits which can assist to determine whether a higher level of cover can be secure at a negligible difference in cost.
An often missed question by clients is whether your insurance intermediary is acting as a broker or an agent. An insurance broker is acting on behalf of the client (you). Whilst an insurance agent will most likely be operating on behalf of the insurance company. An agent of the insurer is obligated to inform you of when they are acting in such a capacity, but it is generally detailed within their Financial Services Guide. The benefit of having a broker acting on your behalf becomes especially important when handling grey area claims. A broker will be able to negotiate on your behalf with an insurance company, where an insurance agent is required to adhere to the decisions made by the insurance company.
You can also consider asking your broker what your ongoing insurance obligations are if you decide to wind up or sell your business. Most classes of insurance can simply be cancelled from the last required date of cover; however, some policies (referred to as 'claims made and notified') may require an additional cover to be purchased to continue to protect your business once you have ceased to trade.
Finding out what level of experience your broker has in their industry segment is also a good idea. Many insurance brokers in the market are worth their weight in gold; however, they might also be focused on representing a broad level of clients in terms of industry classes (e.g. doctors, dentists, labourers, trades, professionals, industrial and commercial). If you find a broker who specialises in your specific industry segment this can be of great benefit in terms of streamlining the information being requested and knowing that the right insurers are going to be approached to secure the most appropriate insurance cover at good value for money.
If You’re A Locum Doctor – What business insurance do you need?
As a Locum Doctor your risk exposure is similar to that of operating at a surgery, albeit in a mobile capacity.
You have Medical Indemnity Insurance, which protects against the advice that you are providing in connection to your services. For the medical industry, this type of product is available through a limited number of insurers (e.g. MIGA, AVANT).
Then there is Public & Products Liability cover which at times can be packaged with your Professional Indemnity. This is covering the exposure of slips, trips, falls, or other forms of personal injury and/or property damage arising from the supply of your services.
As most Locum Doctors will not have a fixed office location, they need to take into consideration what Portable & Valuable Equipment is being carried around to various locations and may be exposed to accidental damage, theft, or other risks. The types of equipment might be mobile phones, laptops, tablets (e.g. iPad), doctor's bag and equipment.
If you operate your business between different States and Territories, you may wish to consider obtaining quotes for Business Travel Insurance too.
Depending on how your business is established, you may require to establish:
➞ Workers Compensation to cover the exposure of yourself as a working director/employee for personal injury.
➞ Income Protection/Life Insurance cover in effect, which is offered by specialist brokers in the market (or via your Accountant).
➞ Management Liability Insurance to protect against operating in the capacity of a Director/Officer and the various legal frameworks associated with your industry segment.
How Do You Know If You Have the Right Business Insurance?
This is a difficult question to answer and would be no different to going to a doctor and asking yourself, "how do I know if I have received the right advice on my ailment or condition?". The tone, pace, professionalism, and knowledge of your broker is a key factor in determining whether they understand the risk profile of your business, and even if they don't at the outset, are displaying competence in investigating appropriate protections through the right insurers.
When you do raise questions on your insurance, is your broker responding with confidence and a high level of experience in having assisted other businesses in a similar capacity in the past, or are you speaking with someone who needs to cross-reference to a more senior staff member that you never get to speak with directly?
A final option is to benchmark your current insurer/broker from time to time. It might be that your level of coverage is correct and suitable for your needs, but investigating alternative options results in finding a broker/agent who is more suited to your style of business too. They may have high levels of service standards and go out of their way to provide advice for your business, which in this day and age is a critical factor to consider.
About Alex Conlon
AMC Insurance is led by Alex Conlon, a qualified insurance advisor who has been recognised by the Suncorp Group as one of the industry’s next generation of leaders. Alex is focused on guiding the business community to redefine how to think about the value of insurance.
AMC Insurance forms part of the AUB Group who ‘represents more than 1 million client policies and 135 partner businesses across more than 425 locations in Australasia. Combined, AUB Group have over 3,500 client-serving employees, and cover over $4.5 Billion in policy premium.’
You can find out more about AMC here on their website or email Alex here: alexc@abterrace.com.au
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