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Rueter Insurance assurance

Our approach is based on avoiding unintended consequences by recommending the correct coverages at a competitive cost. We accomplish this objective through attention to detail, asking the right questions, and marketing your account to insurance companies that respect quality work.

Essential Coverages

  • Professional Liability: Malpractice
  • Keyperson Disability
  • Keyperson Life Insurance
  • Equipment Breakdown
  • Physicians and Surgeons Floater
  • Business Income with Extra Expense
  • Employment Practices Liability with third-party coverages
  • Employee Dishonesty, including customer’s property
  • Directors and Officers Liability
  • Fiduciary Liability
  • Spoilage: Refrigerated Medicines
  • Targeted Hacker Attack: Business Income
  • Identity Theft
  • Building and Business Personal Property
  • Umbrella/Excess Liability
  • Worker’s Compensation
  • Business Income with extra expense
  • Valuable Papers and Records
  • Electronic Data Processes
  • General Liability, including Completed Operations
  • Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability

Cyber liability: Some dentists may not be concerned about cyber risk, particularly have a small office. As it turns out, hackers would rather go after a small office without firewall protection than a large practice with numerous safeguards in place. Health care-type operations store a large amount of client data compared to operations, thus creating a significant exposure.

Cyber Liability insurance covers dentist offices for these critical exposures:

  • Liability for a network data breach where customer information has been stolen
  • Certain expenses: notification costs, credit monitoring, cost to defend claims by state regulators, fines and penalties, and loss resulting from identity theft
  • Media content as well as certain property exposures: business interruption, data loss/destruction, computer fraud, funds transfer loss, and cyber extortion

 

Critical Issues

  • Smoke from fires damaging sterile equipment
  • Equipment breakdown
  • Patient privacy on-premises
  • Use of anesthetics for on-site surgeries
  • Unsanitary needles and equipment
  • Patient mental anguish claims
  • Inadequate use of safety equipment, such as gloves and masks
  • Heavy lifting injuries
  • Slip and fall injuries
  • Lack of a disaster recovery plan
  • Infection via on-the-job cuts and scrapes
  • Corporation. If the dental practice is incorporated, it is important to have either a corporate malpractice policy or a corporate endorsement on a malpractice policy. Without this, a dentist may have to pay the cost of defending the corporation out of his/her own pocket.
  • Location. If you cover for other dentists and their location is not listed on the policy, then there may not be coverage.
  • Hired and Non-Owned Auto. Necessary if employees use their own car to run errands.
  • “Locum tenants.” Extends coverage to a replacement dentist while resident dentist is away on vacation. Ensure that replacement dentists have adequate insurance as well.
  • Keyperson Disability. Provides coverage for lost income in the event of a sick or injured dentist.
  • Dental Charts. Cost between $85 -100. Verify BPP limit is high enough to cover.
  • Loss of Business Income. Decreases waiting period. Determine adequate length of time to reopen.
  • Prepare a disaster recovery.
  • Building and BPP valuations. What is building and what is personal property
  • Replacement cost valuation of new equipment.
  • Blanket Building & Contents

 

Questions some agents fail to ask?

  • Do you ever cover for a colleague while they are away on vacation?
  • When you are away on vacation do you hire a replacement dentist?
  • Do you have any employees run errands? Do they use their own car?
  • Do you have a disaster plan in place?
  • Do you perform any operations involving implants?
  • Approximately how many dental charts do you have?
  • What equipment is bolted to the floor/wall?
  • What toxic materials do you currently store on premises?
  • Do you have refrigerated medications?
  • Do you run background checks on your employees?
  • What would it cost to replace the current year and model of each piece of equipment?
  • What would you do if your office and equipment was damaged or destroyed?

 

The costly mistake of confusing building and business personal property

Insurance agents can make the mistake of misidentifying building and personal business property values. If some equipment is permanently attached to the walls or floors in a dental office, some agents mistakenly classify it as Business Personal Property when it is, in fact, considered part of the Building. This simple mistake could leave a dentist underinsured in the event of a claim.

Case Histories

Professional Liability – Medical Malpractice

A dentist was unknowingly using a defective drill during a dental procedure with a new patient. The drill snapped and cut into the patient’s nerves. The dentist was sued by the patient for $1,350,000 for pain, suffering, and loss of wages.

A woman was awarded $345,000 when a dentist failed to detect cancer under her tongue after more than six visits to the dental office over a one-year period.

Fortunately, these incidents were covered under professional liability policy purchased in conjunction with the general liability.

Cyber Liability

A group of foreign criminals hacked into a dentist network and downloaded spyware. Patients’ financial and personal information was compromised, including credit card information. The group sold the information to other criminals that used it to take out loans, apply for credit cards, and to make other purchases. The patients sued the dentist for damages resulting from the failure to protect their financial information.

A comprehensive cyber liability policy with breach costs, hacker damage, cyber business interruption, and Payment Card Industry fines coverage protected the dentist from a serious financial disaster.

Dentist’s Office Loss Control

  • Purchase software that provides firewalls, antivirus, spam, and spyware protection, and encryption.
  • Store medicine in a secure facility, cabinet, etc., and only allow certain employees access to it.
  • If you store medicine in a refrigerator make sure you monitor the temperatures.
  • Regularly inspect equipment and have preventive maintenance performed.
  • Optimize thermal comfort, air quality, and ergonomics.
  • Do not allow employees to use their own vehicles for company business. If this is unavoidable, assign certain workers this task. Order annual MVRs for these workers to determine if they are eligible to drive
  • Run background checks on all new-hires.
  • Randomly drug test employees.
  • Complete a Disaster Recovery Self-Assessment Checklist.
  • Create a business continuity plan.
    • Identify industry colleagues you could outsource work to in case of an operation suspending loss.
    • Implement crisis procedures for communication with patients and employees.
    • Discuss your plan with your current suppliers and shippers.
    • Review this plan and run drills to identify areas that need improvement.
  • Secure patient data in locked facilities, cabinets, or storage areas. Backup storage at an off-site location.
  • Comply with the identity theft Red Flags Rules implemented by the Federal Trade Commission. The red flags are:
    • Alerts and notifications from fraud detection services
    • Suspicious documents
    • Suspicious personal information, i.e. – a change of address
    • Notice from patients of identity theft

Client Testimonial

“Rueter insurance is a family-owned business and you know they care. They’re personable, knowledgeable, and very easy to work with. Always ready to take time to help us.”

Christina A. Gregory, DMD Bensalem

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