What does ‘occurrence-based’ mean?
With occurrence-based cover, as long as you are paying the right subscription rate at the time the incident occurred that later gave rise to a claim, you will be covered in perpetuity. This means that if you did something negligent but retired the next day and stopped your payments, even if the complaint and legal claim is made against you three years later, your policy will respond.
I’ve heard that some cover is discretionary. What does this really mean?
Ours is insurance-based indemnity which operates on the same basis as other forms of insurance. The
policy wording specifies what is covered by this agreement as well as being transparent about the term, conditions and policy exclusions. If you are declined cover, you can complain to the BDA in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the final response from BDA, you can then refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). That same legal protection does not exist with discretionary cover: the organisation can exercise its absolute discretion not to assist you, even if you are in the right subscription category, have paid the correct fees and the matter is within the scope of cover – and there is no independent source of adjudication. Whilst it rarely happens, as a mutual fund, a refusal to assist an individual member can be argued to be justified on the basis that incurring the costs of the case would not be in the interests of other members.
What's covered?
It's a unique policy designed for dentists and dentistry. It's specifically designed for UK dentists and the wide range of work they do. The cover is for all the things that dentists generally do, including tooth whitening and dental implants (including sinus lifts and bone grafts), the dental specialty of oral surgery and the use of cosmetic injectable procedures throughout the face.
What's not covered?
Because this is a policy for dentists who are delivering dentistry, the medical specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery is not covered. Procedures in the neck or other parts of the body are not included, and certain types of specialised cosmetic facial procedures (even when used in the face) are similarly excluded. See our flowchart to assess whether or not the surgical procedures you carry out are covered.
Is my business covered?
When a patient makes a claim, they may pursue a company (or owners), as well as an individual dentist. A Limited Company (or PLC/LLP) is a legal entity in its own right and could face legal action itself. In addition, NHS contracts may require such cover to be in place. You therefore need to ensure that your business has indemnity cover itself. This is referred to by different providers as entity cover, corporate indemnity, corporate medical malpractice or contingent liability. Find out more including arranging entity cover with Lloyd & Whyte, the BDA’s financial services partner.
Are my nurses covered?
Yes, if you purchase the policy as an Expert member practice owner, any nurses employed by you are indemnified for negligence claims, compliant with GDC regulation.
Would a member who only does a few implants each year be less of a risk than one who does more?
Dental implants are now a recognised element of the range of clinical options. But by their nature the complexity of the risks involved and the costs of putting things right is of a different order to non-implant dentistry. There are two ways of looking at this: do more, become more proficient, present less risk. Or, do fewer, present fewer opportunities for things to go wrong, present less risk. Our view is that it is difficult to call and so we believe the fairest way is to price both ends of the spectrum the same.
How is this different to what's already out there?
In developing this product, we have achieved a number of components that buck the trend in the wider market. The indemnity insurance policy is written on an occurrence-based contractual basis. This means that members will be offered the best of the insurance element (contractual certainty) together with what has been the best of the MDO world (protection in perpetuity). Even more remarkably we have achieved the same terms for the legal expenses cover (we believe that this is the only one of its kind to offer occurrence-based cover).
