It’s not just doctors who exposed to illnesses and risks due to their line of work. Being a dentist means that you constantly exposed to health risks such as being infected with a virus carried by one of your patients. As such, it’s more important than ever to protect your livelihood through dentist locum insurance if you become sick or injured for any reason.

At Locum Insurance, we’ve worked with hundreds of individual dentists, as well as large practices, to ensure ongoing income protection and cover. We’ve learned that it’s always prudent to plan for the worst and diligently prepare for events where your practice is understaffed, so you can continue to offer a high level of care to your patients, as well as protect your livelihood.

Locum Insurance or Income Protection?

It’s easy to get confused between locum insurance and income protection. Essentially, they are both ways to support you during the unfortunate injury or sickness of you or your staff.

• Dentist locum insurance – pays out to the practice owner and is often used to cover the cost of hiring a locum to cover a sick or injured person’s absence.

• Income protection – provides financial support to the individual who is unable to work. It will usually be at a percentage of the individual’s normal income.

Do You Need Income Protection Insurance?

Income protection can provide you with replacement income up to 75% of your regular wage, as well as cover against the associated risks of your occupation as a dental practitioner. As such, there are many insurance providers and policies designed especially to cover the inherent risks of working in the dental sector.

For example, as a dentist, you may be required to perform oral surgical procedures. These procedures are often prone to exposures, such as direct skin contact. There is the risk that certain operations that require sharp surgical equipment can expose you to a patient’s blood.

In this event, there is a certain risk of contracting a blood-borne disease, such as HIV or Hepatitis B or C. And in addition to the danger this poses to your health, you would not be able to perform certain treatments and surgeries on your patients from that point onward, preventing you from working and earning a living. Specific policies can be taken out to cover these situations with either lump-sum payments or ongoing support provided to you.

Increasing Stress and Mental Illness Related Issues

As well as increased rates of stress, anxiety, and mental health-related absences in the NHS and broader medical sector, dentists also face similar battles. Several studies have shown how high levels of pressure in the medical profession are primary causes of individuals becoming overwhelmed and burning out – leading to temporary sicknesses or long-term mental health issues.

While this is part of the job to some extent, having the ability to cover your income and practice’s operations, should any member of staff need to take time off, will not only provide you with added security and peace of mind, but it will ensure that unnecessary pressure isn’t placed on colleagues when someone is off sick?

Often, this additional strain can cause a chain reaction of more members of staff becoming ill and requiring time off. Ultimately, some form of income protection policy will let you and your team access financial relief to take off some of the burdens.

Additional Cover Features

• Rehabilitation – covers the rehabilitation and treatment costs with an approved medical practitioner
• Death – nominated beneficiaries will receive compensation in the event of your death
• Terminal illness – additional payments will be made for a diagnosed terminal illness

Do I Need Locum Insurance?

If you charged with running your dental practice as well as working in it, it would be prudent also to take out dentist locum insurance. Essentially, it provides funds for the practice to employ a locum in the event of a member of staff being unable to perform their normal duties. The money can also be used to support the general running of the practice, such as paying for medical equipment or daily overheads.

Our services at Locum Insurance created to cater to the needs of today’s busy dental practices. Get in touch for more information or a tailored quote!