Traditional Locum Insurance ensures your practice can afford a qualified temporary replacement. Locum Insurance through us offers far more flexibility and coverage because we can arrange a policy that is benefit-driven instead of restrictive.
Traditional locum cover vs specialist broker cover
Because we are a specialist insurance broker, we can offer Locum Insurance that covers:
- Cost of any replacement employee, whether that is a dentist, vet, GP, receptionist, admin staff or another insured person. Traditional locum cover usually only pays for the cost of hiring a locum dentist, doctor or vet. When you arrange a Locum policy through us, you can be confident that your healthcare practice will still run smoothly without letting your patients and clients down.
- Broader coverage: Locum Insurance through Lloyd & Whyte can cover a wide range of absenteeism, including sickness and injury; back pain; suspension; bereavement; family emergency; maternity & paternity leave; adoption leave; and even jury leave. Standard Locum Insurance will typically only cover sickness and injury.
- Whereas traditional Locum policies will cover locum costs i.e. you will receive reimbursement for hiring a temporary replacement person. Our policies, however, will give you a pre-agreed pay out to use as you see fit. If you need to pay for staff overtime or clerical as opposed to clinical members of your team – you can. You can have multiple people with different levels of cover, tailored to each person.
- Waiting periods (before the insurance coverage starts) are usually around 2-3 weeks when you take out a traditional Locum Insurance policy. The coverage we provide allows you to choose your deferment period, giving you greater flexibility and choice.
- Exclusions: Locum policies often placed rigid exclusions around maternity leave, stress-related absence and some pre-existing conditions. The policies we provide are far more flexible and, in some cases, can cover pre-existing medical conditions.
- When we arrange your Locum policy you will receive a payout (should you need to make a claim) which you can use in a way that benefits your individual healthcare practice. You can use it in any way i.e. to cover the cost of temporary staff, staff overtime or business interruption. Traditional policies will usually only insure for the salary of a locum healthcare professional.
Traditional Locum Cover: pros and cons
While traditional Locum Insurance is a helpful coverage for paying for a temporary replacement, it does not offer the same versatility that Locum policies through us provide. Traditional Locum cover will require proof of absence and locum invoices, whereas the policies we provide won’t.
Income Protection vs Locum Insurance: differences for practices
Income Protection is designed to pay a percentage of their salary until your employee recovers from their illness or injury or until they retire (depending on policy terms). Locum Insurance is usually tailored for medical professionals where the absence of the individual can have a significant impact on your practice. It is used for the reimbursement of locum costs or the cost of keeping your practice running. Locum Insurance is usually used to cover shorter-term absences, ranging from days to a few months.
Top-Up Locum Insurance (for GPs)
The NHS reimbursement scheme allows practices to claim for GP absence costs for up to a year, after a two-week deferment period. Figures vary across the UK, but in England, you can claim up to £2,238.03 per week for the first 26 weeks of absence. * Practices can then claim half that amount for the second 26-week period, with the maximum amount payable being £1,119.01.
The reimbursement scheme can financially support practices during unforeseen absences but with Locum costs increasing faster than the reimbursement payments, practices are often still left in detriment without the contribution of a Locum Insurance policy. The average cost of a Locum GP per session is around £350, so if your practice has any GPs working more than six sessions a week, the NHS scheme will not be enough. If the absence lasts longer than six months, your costs for Locum will continue but the NHS funding will reduce.
A bespoke Top-Up Locum Insurance policy will ensure your Practice is fully protected by bridging the gap between what the NHS pays and your actual costs.
If a GP’s replacement costs are £2,800, you can claim £2,238.03 a week from the NHS for the first 26 weeks and a top-up locum policy would pay the £561.97 difference. If the GP is still absent after 26 weeks, the NHS payments would reduce by 50% and you could then claim £1,680.99 per week from your insurance policy.
Additionally, the NHS scheme only covers GPs, which leaves your practice without funding if a Practice Manager, Advanced Nurse Practitioner or any other key member of staff is unwell. Due to the lack of funding, an ANP can often cost your practice more to replace than a GP if they are off work long-term. Lloyd & Whyte’s bespoke Locum Insurance policy can cover anyone employed by the Practice on one policy that is tailored to your needs.
