Operating a successful Optometrist Office
As a professional optometrist, you assist your clients to achieve their optimal eye health and vision. You may operate your own optometrist office or be part of a partnership of eye doctors. You may specialize in detecting vision conditions and defects in the vision of your clients, whether they suffer from the effects of an injury, a disease or simply vision deterioration or just help people find a great pair of glasses.
Regardless of your scope of expertise your optometrist office is an essential service that everyone has a need for, but your operation does open you up to various risks. You could misdiagnose a patient or get their prescription wrong. Someone could injure themselves while at your office. There are risks to guard against that are specific to your profession and there are those that are common to most professionals who operate offices open to the public. In order to safeguard your investment in your optometrist office, you have to protect your business against both.
How do you protect your Optometrist Office with insurance?
Having adequate optometrist office insurance will help guard against potentially expensive pitfalls in your business that could in a worst case scenario bankrupt you. The following coverages should be considered as part of your insurance package:
- Errors and Omissions Insurance – this is professional liability coverage for optometrists that provides financial protection to optometrists in the event that bodily injury, damages or financial losses are caused to a third party as a result of negligence, mistakes or omissions associated with your services. If a client brings a suit against your legal entity or any optometrist working on your behalf, this coverage can cover lawsuits costs and damages as long as the cause of the damage is part of your policy. Many professional optometrist organizations would require you to carry this type of professional liability coverage.
- A second vital coverage when operating an optometrist office is General Liability Insurance. This coverage can provide protection if a third party is injured on your property. This is slip and fall coverage and cannot be ignored by those operating an optometrist office.
- Additional coverages your optometrist office should consider is Cyber Liability Insurance to protect your online assets, including client health records and other personal information, from losses or thefts. If you own the building where your optometrist office is located, you should also consider Property Insurance, which can protect against extreme weather events, fire, as well as theft and vandalism, all of which can cause damage to your building, equipment, supplies etc.
For more insight there are several claims scenarios that optometrist office insurance can cover, including the following examples:
- A client is misdiagnosed as having glaucoma and undergoes the wrong procedure, which exacerbates her actual condition. She sues your office for damages.
- You fail to put salt down in the winter around the entrance to your office and one of your clients slips and falls on ice, injuring themselves.
- A piece of your optometrist equipment short circuits and starts a small fire in your office, causing a fair amount of damage to the building and shuts down your practice for a few months.
Find the Right Optometrists Office Insurance from ALIGNED
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