(FAQ) Frequently Asked Questions

What types of insurance do you offer?

What is an independent insurance agent?

I am starting my first hospital, what should be the first thing I should do?

I want to build the right team of professionals to help my business. Can Vetinsure help with that?

I am signing the lease for my first hospital, what should I look out for?

As part of building your team, you need to have a real estate professional looking out for you. But with regards to insurance, your landlord will require you to indemnify them (protect) if a third-party gets injured in your leasehold space and sues you and the landlord. However, not all leases are worded the same! A common error is some landlords unknowingly require general liability insurance limits "per person" and not based on how insurance policies are written which is "per occurrence." It's best to have an agent review the insurance section of your lease so you are not agreeing to indemnify your landlord outside of the bounds of any insurance policy you may have.

If you already have an active lease, it is still highly recommended to have the insurance section reviewed because changes can be introduced to your landlord. In many cases, the wording was a legal oversight, and wording changes can be introduced through a lease amendment.

What factors affect my insurance rates?

Insurance is a commodity.

Just like when you fill your car up at the gas station and experience price fluctuations from one station to another or even time of year, commodities are influenced by many factors.

Insurance rates are based on an insurers appetite for your industry first and foremost. The more an insurer wants to provide insurance to veterinary hospitals, the more attractive their rates may be. This is a reflection of their past claims experience writing other veterinary hospitals and their outlook on future profitability. But price isn't everything. Just because an insurer is less expensive, doesn't mean the coverage they offer is strong which is why you should align yourself with a specialist agent.

How often should I review my insurance policies?

If you are starting a hospital or your business has been open for less than 5 years, it's good to review your insurance with your agent every year. This allows an opportunity to update your agent to changes such as: equipment purchases, changes in revenue or number of employees, etc. Future growth, especially expansion to additional locations should be strategized with your agent. If you have been open for more than 5 years, revenue and staffing is stable, and you have experienced no issues, every other year is fine. However, if your agent is not specialized in the veterinary industry, there is over a 90% change you have significant coverage gaps in your current policies right now and should have it reviewed immediately.

If I have a claim will my rates go up?

Not necessarily.

You could have a claim and later see your rates at renewal go down because your insurer is trying to grow their book of business in the veterinary industry. Conversely, you could be claim free and see rates go up because the insurer needs to better manage their profitability writing insurance for all the animal hospitals they have as policyholders.

A single claim is not always the end of the world! The main thing to focus on is frequency of claims. All carriers believe that "frequency leads to severity." In other words, if you keep having the same claim over and over again, the likelihood you will experience that claim but at a much higher magnitude is very strong. Insurers will then decide whether they want to keep providing you insurance or simply get out of the way before the big claim comes. Other times, they may want to pad your premium to help them finance a large future claim. Either way, not controlling claims will guarantee you will pay more for insurance over time.

What is the most common coverage gap animal hospitals have before speaking with Vetinsure?

Does General Liability cover every situation where a client could be injured in my hospital?

No. General Liability, for the most part, does provide coverage in the event that a third-party, such as a pet owner, gets injured in your hospital but there is a very notable exception to this rule. As a veterinarian, you are licensed to provide your professional service. This makes you the expert in your field, especially in the eyes of the law. So, when you begin providing your services by conducting an exam or procedure to an animal, you are also expected to control the environment around you. For this reason, if a pet owner is injured while an exam or procedure is taking place and they sue you, your Veterinary Professional Liability policy would respond instead of the General Liability coverage contained in your Business-Owner Policy.

Why does this matter? Some national veterinary association programs put strict limits on what their carrier can spend on attorney fees. Some programs pay as little as $150 per hour for attorney fees and only $275 per hour for expert witnesses.