Dental indemnity insurance is there to give you and your practice cover in the event that you are alleged to have provided inadequate advice, treatment or services to a client or patient. It covers you for legal costs and expenses relating to compensation claims made against the practice or an individual practitioner.
There is often confusion around the GDC guidelines on dental indemnity insurance. This article is here to clear the confusion and offer some clarity.
Why do you need dental indemnity insurance?
Before you can renew your GDC registration, you need to have the relevant indemnity insurance in place.
A common misconception is that holding employers’ liability insurance is equivalent to indemnity insurance. This is not the case and anyone dealing with patients in a dental practice needs to be covered by an indemnity insurance policy.
Indemnity insurance is designed to benefit both dental professionals and patients and to minimise the risks associated with people working without cover in the UK.
Do you need personal indemnity insurance?
Dentists and dental nurses working in the NHS will be covered by the NHS/Crown Indemnity policy cover. It is advisable for employees to take out their own indemnity policy as well, as it can provide additional support in relation to any queries you may have about a claim and cover legal costs in an FtP hearing (if needed).
It is not a requirement to have personal indemnity cover but you do need to have the relevant indemnity cover from your employer should a claim for compensation be made. For private dentists this is different, dental indemnity insurance is something that should be in place to cover both the practice and employees in the event of a claim being made
How has COVID-19 affected things?
Covid 19 has undoubtedly affected the entirety of the UK and the dental sector is no exception. The dental industry in the UK is unique in the way that there are 4 key governmental bodies to consider when looking into regulatory advice such as CQC, NHS, GDC and HSE. Throughout Covid it has been difficult at times to find consistent advice from the regulatory bodies. The one thing that was agreed between all groups is that as of March any procedures carried out that are not urgent care will result in the dentist not being indemnified.
Some dental indemnity insurance providers have been offering clients rebates and also forms of reductions in reflection to the current climate. For those that are covered by claims occurrence, you will be indemnified for any clinical activities that were undertaken prior to the closure of your practice
About the author
All Med Pro is a specialist professional insurance broker to the dental sector offering expert & friendly advice to over 7,000+ healthcare professionals. They work with a range of clients across the UK and are dedicated to providing their customers with an expert level service with exemplary customer service.