Whether you are thinking about opening a new wellness center, integrative medicine practice or medical spa, or you’ve been practicing for years, it’s imperative to have the best insurance for your practice! And it doesn’t hurt to double check your policy from time to time either.
Often, at the Wellness Medical Protection Group (WMPG), we find medical spa owners or physicians contacting us after realizing their purchased coverage is not sufficient to properly cover the full scope of their operations. Many times, this realization occurs after an uncovered claim.In many circumstances, it can be challenging to assist providers, after a claim has been made against them.
Be Proactive! Your practice longevity and livelihood will thank you for it. Consider the following tips:
STEP ONE:
Select the right insurance Agent.
Selecting your liability coverage is equally as important as selecting your agent. It’s like when you are utilizing a real estate agent to sell, rent, or purchase a property. The representative who exercises the best knowledge and skill set in buying and selling homes, will likely be your preferred candidate for the job. This is no different with your insurance.
Integrative Wellness and Medical Spas are highly skilled niche practices and it is important that your agent keep up with the different types of services and products offered in the market. By understanding your business in depth, they can assist you in obtaining what you’re looking for and help to educate you on what’s happening in your market.
At WMPG, all of our agents are trained, licensed and insured to assist you specifically on your practice. This is our specialty and we are involved with clients nationwide, this provides us great insight on claim trends. Get to know our agents & interview us.
We are constantly sharpening our knowledge by regularly are communicating with regulatory agencies, attorneys, insurance carriers, and clients of all sizes in the wellness market. We have put together solutions to continue in supporting the market. Initially, when the market was in its infancy, our founders started with a handful of clients starting out in the industry. The industry has grown and evolved, and it will continue to do so.
STEP TWO:
Dealing with the right carrier for the right reasons.
Every client we come across is unique in their practice approach, therefore each policy needs to be customized to their coverage needs. Over the last twenty years, WMPG has contracted with all of the major A rated insurance carriers that provide coverage for the alternative medical market. We believe it is best to have a more broad selection of coverage options because not every carrier may be right for you.
Let’s go back to our example in Step One, selecting the right agent. Just like selecting the right real estate agent, it is counterproductive to have two agents working for you at the same time. Not only that, it is difficult to do the job properly because when the first agent you select begins to obtain quotes from the carriers for you (regardless of how many carriers they may or may not have access to), the second agents will get blocked from the market entirely, and they can no longer work to provide you a true assessment of what’s the best quote or even access the most competitive carrier for you.
At WMPG, we have been working with many of these carriers for more than 2 decades with a well-established rapport. After we receive your application, we are able to assess the best carriers to target for the most competitive quotes providing you the coverage that you need.
Things to consider when selecting a Med Spa policy:
1) Am I covered?
Am I covered for cyber security and HIPAA breach?
2) What’s included and what’s excluded?
Are Non-FDA Approved products, compounds or services included or excluded in the coverage or addressed?
3) Coverage for Personnel
Is there coverage for the personnel that are directly or indirectly working with my practice?
4) Legal Defense Coverage
Do I have legal defense coverage for any investigations, board complains, claim filings, or proceedings?
5) Fines and Penalties
Am I covered for regulatory fines and penalties?
6) Supplements and Skin Care Coverage
Are my supplements or skin care products that I provide my patients covered?
7) Renter and Fire Liability Coverage
Is there renter or fire liability coverage in case anything happens to my practice?
STEP THREE:
Cover the Basics
Don’t miss the basics! Often you are excited to hurry through the insurance process and might miss one or two required elements for your practice to be FULLY protected.
Make sure you double check property coverage, general liability and any business interruption insurance. You can plan, project, and work hard towards your goals and your patient goals, but you can’t predict all outcomes. It’s not worth it. Consider a strong policy as an investment for your practice and livelihood’s longevity.