Teeth are an important part of a beautiful smile, but more importantly, oral health has a big impact on the overall health of the body. As a dental professional, you are providing critical services that help to keep everyone healthy, happy, and putting their best smile forward. At the same time, your dental practice is exposed to certain risks and perils that could result in property damage, litigation, and major financial setbacks. The answer is protection against financial loss with the best Calgary dental office insurance. Calgary dental professionals can get the coverage they need to avoid paying out of pocket for a wide range of expenses in the event of an insured peril by calling 403-879-8660 to speak with the qualified brokers at Krywolt Insurance today.
As a Calgary dentist with a general dentistry license, there is more you need to acquire to be a fully licensed business. You provide dental treatment in an office space, and that space is protected by an insurance plan. Insurance for dental offices in Calgary is essentially a package of insurance coverages that are designed to address the unique risk exposures of dental professionals in general but are also custom-tailored to the individual insurance requirements of the policyholder. Calgary dental office insurance offers financial compensation to help deal with expenses resulting from damage to your commercial property or equipment, as well as some forms of liability coverage so you can avoid out of pocket costs such as legal defence fees and settlements should you be found liable for causing third-party bodily injury or third-party property damage. So with office policies and a trusted insurance provider, you’ll get peace of mind knowing that you can carry out your dental procedures with ease.
Anyone who works in a dental office needs Calgary dental office insurance coverage, but it is typically purchased by the owner of the practice, who then lists their dental office staff on their policies as "named insureds." Proper insurance coverage is essential for a wide range of professions and specialties, including:
There are some types of insurance that are necessary for most businesses, like commercial property insurance and commercial general liability, and of course, dental offices are no exception. There are also some coverages that you may need or want for comprehensive coverage on your Calgary dental office insurance policy, based on a wide range of risk exposures determined by factors such as your location, the services you offer, how you run the administrative side of your business and more. Here are some coverages to know about for dental practice insurance.
As a dentist or dental professional, you can't just do your work at a local coffee shop or at home in your garage—you need a dedicated business property and specialized equipment that meet not only the requirements for your services but also meet or exceed the highest industry standards. If your commercial property suffers damage from—or is outright destroyed by—something like a natural disaster or a fire, you won't be able to see clients until your building is restored and your equipment is replaced. But the costs associated with restoration and replacement can be extremely high, and most professionals can't pay those expenses out of pocket without suffering serious financial setbacks. With commercial property coverage as part of their dental office insurance, Calgary professionals can get compensation from their insurance company to deal with those expenses up to the limits of their policy and get back to seeing clients as soon as possible.
Most businesses need commercial general liability (CGL) insurance coverage, and naturally, that includes dental offices. This type of insurance covers situations that have resulted in third-party bodily injury, third-party property damage to a building or item or personal harm that is not related to dental treatments or dental services.
The classic example of a commercial general liability insurance claim for third-party bodily injury is a client coming into your office and tripping over something that was left sitting out, like a vacuum cleaner or extension cord, and suffering an injury such as a broken wrist. Or, it could be a property damage situation—for example, you ask a client to leave their coat and purse in another room while they were receiving treatment and cleaning chemicals were accidentally spilled, destroying their expensive designer items. In those types of scenarios in which a client brings legal action against you for causing bodily injury or property damage, commercial general liability coverage on your Calgary dental office insurance will cover your legal costs along with settlement expenses such as medical bills, compensation for loss of income while the client is in recovery, and repair or replacement for damaged items, up to the coverage limits on your policy.
From intraoral cameras and 3D imaging systems to dental chairs, operatory lights and much more, there's a lot of specialized and expensive equipment that is necessary for you to operate your dental practice. Since your treatment processes are dependent on important equipment that isn't all that easy to replace, it makes sense to include equipment breakdown coverage with your Calgary dental office insurance. Should your equipment be damaged by something like a fire or natural disaster, it would be covered by the contents portion of your commercial property insurance. But that coverage doesn't apply if your equipment suffers a breakdown that is due to power surges, motor failure or operator error. With equipment breakdown insurance, your insurance carrier will give you the necessary financial support to handle the cost of replacement or repair so you can get your essential equipment working again and continue serving your clients.
Do you have questions you need answered about Calgary dental office insurance? Pick up the phone and call 403-879-8660 to speak with the knowledgeable brokers at Krywolt Insurance, who can provide the answers you're looking for and get started on a quote for dental office insurance. Calgary dental professionals can rely on our team to prioritize their best interests and work tirelessly to ensure they have the coverage necessary to protect against financial losses.
Professional liability insurance, which is sometimes referred to as malpractice insurance, is a very important form of coverage for dentists and other dental professionals because it offers coverage for legal costs and settlement expenses if you are sued for negligence. However, most dental professionals get professional liability coverage through their association. For example, the College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta integrates professional liability insurance with registration to work as a dentist in Alberta. This is because dentists and other types of healthcare professionals are at greater risk of being sued for malpractice and negligence, and they need robust professional liability coverage to ensure they are protected against out-of-pocket expenses for the costs associated with litigation and legal settlements.
That's difficult to say without knowing more about your particular dental practice. When they put together a quote for Calgary dental office insurance coverage, insurance providers look at a wide array of factors and assess your risk exposures to come up with a quote that is unique to you, just like your insurance coverage. Those factors include:
Most types of business insurance are not legally mandated by the government, with a few exceptions, such as commercial auto insurance. Certain other types, such as professional liability insurance, are required by professional associations in order to register. That means Calgary dental office insurance is not required by law—but that doesn't mean dental offices can afford to operate without the financial protection it offers.
It's easy to tell yourself that you'll just be extra careful, so there's no need for insurance, but that's not realistic. Mishaps and mistakes happen despite our best intentions—and you can be struck by serious issues that are completely out of your control. If the building next to your dental clinic goes up in flames, for example, or a nearby river bursts its banks, and you arrive to work the next morning to find that your office is full of knee-deep floodwater, your building and equipment could suffer severe damage. Anyone who has ever had to deal with fire or water damage restoration will tell you that the cost can be eye-watering, and that's without factoring in the specialized equipment that dental offices require. There's no sense in putting yourself through the stress of a career-changing financial setback when you can have affordable Calgary dental office insurance to prevent it from happening to you.