Insurance for doctors. How to insure your practice.
Topics
AT A GLANCE
Doctors who run their own practice face many challenges every day – insurance disputes should not be one of them. The right insurance offers you and your employees financial protection and safeguards your practice against financial risks – so that you can devote yourself fully to the important aspects of your work.
Which insurance policies do doctors need in Switzerland?
Whether you are a general practitioner, a dentist or a vet, the optimal insurance cover depends on the specific needs of your practice. Find out here which insurance policies are mandatory and which are optional for you.
Compulsory insurance for doctors
If you run your own practice, some types of insurance are mandatory. These include professional liability insurance and certain kinds of social security plans for any staff you employ.
Professional liability insurance
Medical errors can have very serious consequences. For that reason, professional liability insurance is a legal requirement for your practice. This insurance covers you against the financial consequences of professional errors and negligence and is the core safeguard for your professional activity. It covers all employees at your practice and also defends you against any unjustified claims.
A practical example
A musician fractures the radius bone on his left arm in a fall. During the subsequent operation, the surgeon injures a nerve, greatly delaying the musician’s recovery. In these cases, professional liability insurance covers not only the consequential costs of the partial incapacity for work but also the compensation demanded.
Occupational pensions (BVG)
Do you have employees at your practice? In this case, like any employer, you are required by law to set up a pillar 2 plan for your staff. BVG plans cover financial benefits after retirement and benefits for the risks of death and disability.
You have a lot of flexibility in terms of the scope of these benefits – something which you can take advantage of to position your practice as an attractive employer.
Accident insurance (UVG)
Accident insurance, which protects you and your employees against the financial consequences of an accident, is also mandatory – both during your work at the practice and in your leisure time. Accident insurance is required by law for your employees.
As a self-employed doctor with your own practice, you do not have to join the compulsory accident insurance scheme yourself. You can also take out private accident insurance in order to enjoy more comprehensive cover.
We will be happy to put together the right insurance policies for you and your employees during a no-obligation consultation.
Optional insurance policies for doctors
Although the following types of insurance are not compulsory, they are nevertheless highly recommended. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Daily sickness benefits
Employees who are absent due to illness are entitled to continued salary payments. As an employer, you can mitigate the risk of prolonged absences by taking out daily sickness benefits insurance.
After a certain waiting period, which you choose yourself, this insurance takes over the continued salary payments. With daily sickness benefits insurance, you can also expand the maternity benefits you offer, which will make you more attractive as an employer.
Legal protection insurance
Legal protection insurance assists doctors with legal questions relating to their medical practice. These include employment law issues with employees, disputes with patients and landlords and problems in connection with TARMED billing, for example.
When concluding the contract, you should make sure that both professional and contractual legal disputes are covered.
Cyber insurance
The risk of cyber attacks affects every company in every industry. It is especially serious for doctor’s practices due to the sensitive nature of patient data – making the potential loss from liability claims particularly high.
Cyber insurance gives your practice all-round cover against the risks lurking in our networked world. Examples of risks we cover include:
A practical example
An employed doctor falls victim to a phishing scam. As a result, sensitive data is stolen and the blackmailers demand a ransom. While this is a delicate situation, the consequences of it can be alleviated with cyber insurance. This covers liability claims and first-party losses, pays compensation in the event of business interruptions and supports you with crisis management and any adjustments to your IT infrastructure.
Our customers enjoy exclusive partner benefits, including a cyber security check from Cyber-Safe.
Property insurance
The furniture in medical practices is usually valuable, and then there is all the expensive medical equipment as well – in short, even minor mishaps can have major financial consequences.
Property insurance covers damage to practice premises, inventory and medical equipment. It also covers temperature-sensitive medicines, blood products and laboratory samples if your refrigeration systems fail and the cold chain is interrupted.
If necessary, you can extend property insurance to include risks such as glass breakage, malicious damage, theft and natural hazards like fire and natural disasters.
A practical example
Following a short circuit, the cooling systems at your practice fail over the weekend and temperature-sensitive medicines worth several thousand francs have to be destroyed. An annoying loss, but the good news is that is covered by your property insurance.
The bottom line: insurance for doctors
Erika
Senior Segment Manager Corporate Customers
Senior Segment Manager Corporate Customers
Erika has a Master’s in International Relations and has been working in the insurance industry for four years. In her free time, she loves to hop on her bike, go swimming or get lost in the pages of an exciting book. She has a passion for languages and is currently discovering the secrets of Russian and Italian.
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