Comparing Interpretation – Locum Insurance: “Normal Terms” – part 2

‘Normal Terms’ – these two words can cost your practice a lot of money. It seems ridiculous to make such a statement but it is true.

Here is an example:

You are changing your Locum Insurance cover to another provider as they have quoted a premium that is lower than what you have been paying.

You have been told that you will receive “normal terms”. To the uninitiated this suggests that everybody is fully covered. What it really means is that everybody is covered as per the policy conditions and exclusions and there can be some nasty little clauses in the policy that changes everything.

It goes like this – The Practice Manager gets a cheaper Locum Insurance quote and is told by that potential new provider that even though the practice had made a recent claim the condition that was claimed for would be covered and would be given “normal terms”. When challenged on this point (the practice manager has been alerted to a particular policy exclusion) the potential new provider admitted that as the policy had a “pre-existing condition exclusion” there would be a period before the condition that was previously claimed on could be covered. This situation did happen and the Practice Manager made the right call and kept the cover they had.

Remember – The policy conditions and exclusions determine what locum insurance cover you have. If it seems too good to be true it probably is.

Medical Insurance Consultants