What is Dental Nurse Indemnity Insurance?
Dental indemnity insurance covers you for claims of malpractice as a medical professional.
In the UK, it is a legal requirement for medical and dental professionals to be registered with the relevant governing body.
In the case of dental nurses, it is the General Dental Council (GDC), and to register, you must have valid Professional Indemnity insurance – also known as medical indemnity or medical malpractice insurance.
In case of a claim, your indemnity insurance will respond and cover the costs of the legal proceedings and any compensation payments awarded to the claimant.
Dental Nurse Indemnity provides you with financial support in case someone makes a claim against you and ensures that your patient receives the right compensation should they be injured as part of a treatment you have carried out or professional advice given.
What kind of claims can be made against Dental Nurses?
As a dental nurse, you have a heightened duty of care to your patients. Claims made against you can range from injuries caused by treatments you have carried out or other negligence claims like misconduct. Allegations might include:
- Injury or death as a result of a treatment you have performed
- Verbal abuse or sexual abuse
While often, these claims can be unfounded, they can be costly to defend and, without adequate legal defence, can result in large compensation awards.
Do NHS dental nurses need indemnity insurance?
Yes, NHS dental nurses need indemnity cover; however, they will be covered by their employer – in this case, the NHS.
Any contracted work you carry out for the NHS will fall under their indemnity, but this will not cover any private work or Good Samaritan acts.
What is Crown indemnity for Dental Nurses?
Crown Indemnity is another way of referring to the indemnity the NHS provides you with for contracted work for the NHS.
Again, this will not be valid for any private work you carry out.
Does UNISON provide indemnity for Dental Nurses?
UNISON is a union for workers in public service positions, including nurses working for the NHS. This includes both NHS-only workers and those in private healthcare providing NHS services.
While UNISON does provide some support, this will only be for negligence or employment disputes regarding NHS work.
UNISON will not provide any support for private healthcare disputes.
Should a Dental Nurse get Professional Indemnity Insurance?
If you are working privately, you will need professional indemnity cover for your dental nurse activity to register with the GCC or to revalidate your registration annually.
If you have a contract of employment, you should be covered under your employer’s insurance for all your contracted duties, but this is not to be assumed.#
As a dental nurse, your personal responsibility is to check that you are sufficiently covered.
When carrying out self-employed work or work through an agency, you should have your own insurance to depend upon should someone make a claim against you.
How can Insync help you with Nurse Indemnity Insurance?
At Insync, we have a team of specialist medical indemnity insurance brokers ready to set up cover for all dental professionals, including dentists, dental nurses, hygienists, orthodontists and more.
You can Quote and Buy your Dental Nurse Indemnity Insurance Online directly from our website, with premiums starting from just £57.90 (inc. IPT).
Our expert team is also on-hand to provide you with peace of mind and answer any questions you may have throughout the life of your policy.
Starting a business or reviewing your cover?
We would be pleased to provide a FREE consultation and review of your Business Insurance and can compare products, public and professional liability insurance from the UK’s leading business insurers in minutes.
