Top Tips
Domiciliary and other portable Equipment
The cost of replacing Equipment used by Opticians for home visits and as Locums can amount to many thousands of pounds. For this to be insured Opticians need to source ‘All Risks’ type insurance. This is normally best done by extending their shop insurance policy.
Public and Employers Liability for Work conducted away from business premises
Opticians need to ensure both types of insurance protection are extended to ensure they are covered should a Client or member of the Public or an employee be injured away from business premises or should there be damage to Client or members of the Publics property.
Not insuring Business Property for the correct replacement or reinstatement costs
All businesses are at risk of failure when business Property is not insured for the correct amount. This has to be in line with their insurance policies basis of valuation and of settling claims.
Buildings, professional equipment and furniture, shop fittings, displays and all other contents including stock should be insured for replacement costs. A common mistake is to insure for an amount deemed to reflect second hand or resale value.
Underinsurance clauses allow insurers to reduce claims in proportion with the underinsurance. For example equipment with a replacement cost value of £20,000 insured for £5,000 equates to 75% underinsurance. Should there be damage suffered costing £5,000 to put right insurers would reduce the claim by 75% and be liable to pay only £1250. It follows that the higher the value of the claim the more serious the impact of underinsurance.
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Accident, Health and Life Insurance
Independent Opticians are particularly vulnerable to the financial consequences of being seriously injured or becoming too ill to work. This means they are either unable to generate income or the cost of maintaining income increases for example full time Locums have to be employed.
As a minimum they should consider Locum insurance. This helps with temporary disability from work lasting up to 12 months. More serious disabilities would fall in to the domain of ‘Permanent Health’ also described as ‘Income Protection’ insurance.
Life assurance is often overlooked despite the usual low cost of protection. You should consider how your Partners and dependents would cope with fixed and ongoing business overheads and a loss of the income you generate.