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GP and dental surgery insurance is the practice level cover a surgery needs for its premises, equipment, income, staff and data, separate from the clinicians' own clinical indemnity. It matters because state and professional indemnity arrangements protect clinical work, not the building, the kit or the business behind it.
Part of: Commercial insurance
In short
A GP or dental practice usually needs buildings cover if it owns the premises or tenant's improvements cover if it leases them, cover for specialist equipment, business interruption including locum and temporary premises costs, deterioration cover for vaccines and medicines, employers and public liability, cyber cover for patient data and, for partnerships and practice companies, management liability. Clinical indemnity is a separate matter: NHS GP work in England is covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice, while private work and dental clinical work need their own indemnity arrangements.
The first thing to separate is who protects what. Clinical indemnity responds to claims that a patient was harmed by care or treatment. Practice insurance responds to fire, flood, theft, equipment failure, injuries on the premises, staff claims, cyber incidents and the lost income that follows. A surgery usually needs both, from different sources.
For NHS general practice in England, NHS Resolution explains that the Clinical Negligence Scheme for General Practice (CNSGP) has covered GPs and others working under an NHS GP contract for incidents from 1 April 2019. It does not cover private practice activities, and it does not provide indemnity for non-clinical matters, advice or professional regulatory matters. Our guide to CNSGP and private work covers the boundary. Practices elsewhere in the UK should check the arrangements that apply to them.
Dental professionals arrange their own clinical indemnity. See dentists' professional indemnity and the GDC. Everything below is about the practice as a business, usually arranged as a package under commercial insurance.
| Cover | What it usually protects | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings | The surgery structure where the practice or partners own it | Reinstatement value, lease or loan requirements |
| Tenant's improvements | Fit out paid for by a tenant practice, such as treatment rooms and surgeries | What the lease says the landlord insures |
| Contents and equipment | Dental chairs, imaging, autoclaves, compressors, couches, IT | Accidental damage, breakdown and replacement cost |
| Business interruption | Lost income and increased costs after insured damage | Indemnity period, locum and temporary premises costs |
| Deterioration of stock | Vaccines, medicines and materials spoiled by refrigeration failure | Temperature monitoring and alarm conditions |
| Employers liability | Injury or illness claims from staff | Compulsory for most employers |
| Public liability | Non-clinical injury to patients and visitors, such as a slip in reception | Does not replace clinical indemnity |
| Cyber | Incident response, data breach costs, system restoration, income loss | Patient record systems and third party suppliers |
| Management liability | Claims against partners or directors, including employment disputes | Partnership agreement and practice structure |
For a wider view of clinic risks, see our healthcare clinic insurance guide.
Practices that own their building need buildings cover on an accurate reinstatement basis; our page on commercial property rebuild valuations explains how to set the figure. Practices that lease should read the lease carefully. The landlord may insure the shell while the practice is responsible for its own fit out, which is where tenant's improvements cover comes in. If your landlord owns several healthcare buildings, its side of the picture is covered in insurance for landlords of healthcare property.
Equipment is often the largest insured value after the building. Dental surgeries carry chairs, imaging equipment, autoclaves, compressors and suction plant; GP surgeries carry diagnostic equipment, vaccine fridges and IT. Standard contents cover may exclude breakdown, so electronic equipment and engineering cover are worth considering. Compressors and autoclaves can be pressure systems with their own statutory examination duties, which an engineering inspection contract can address.
If a fire or flood closes the surgery, the practice still has staff to pay and patients to see. Business interruption cover can pay for lost income and increased costs of working, such as temporary premises, extra locum sessions, equipment hire and redirecting patients, subject to the policy terms. Practices with both NHS and private income should explain how each stream would be affected, as they may behave differently after a loss.
Vaccine and medicine stock is vulnerable to a power cut or fridge failure. UKHSA guidance in the Green Book chapter on vaccine storage says vaccines must be kept within the manufacturer's range of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius, with continuous monitoring by a maximum and minimum thermometer and readings recorded each working day. After a temperature excursion, affected stock is quarantined and may need disposal. Deterioration cover commonly requires similar controls, such as alarms and logs, so following the guidance also supports a claim.
Most practices employ staff and so need employers liability insurance under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969; see employers liability insurance. Public liability covers non-clinical injuries to visitors, while treatment claims belong with clinical indemnity.
Patient records are special category data under UK GDPR, and a breach may need to be reported to the Information Commission (formerly the ICO). A practice cyber insurance policy can help with forensic support, notification, system restoration and lost income, subject to its terms.
Partnerships and practice companies also face claims that land on the partners or directors personally, such as employment disputes or regulatory investigations into the running of the practice. Management liability and partnership cover are worth reviewing when partners join or leave.
Illustrative scenarios only; they do not describe any real practice or claim.
A GP surgery's vaccine fridge fails while the building is closed. On return, the log shows a temperature excursion and the stock is quarantined, then disposed of on advice. If the practice has deterioration cover and met its monitoring conditions, the policy may pay for replacement stock.
A burst pipe floods a leased dental surgery. The landlord's policy deals with the building, but the practice paid for the surgery fit out. Without tenant's improvements cover, those costs fall on the practice, along with lost income while chairs and imaging are replaced.
At renewal, check:
Apex arranges practice insurance for GP and dental surgeries alongside your clinical indemnity; a broker reads every enquiry.
No. NHS Resolution says CNSGP covers clinical negligence liabilities arising from NHS primary medical services in England. It does not cover private practice activities or non-clinical matters, and employment disputes are listed as outside it. Premises, equipment, staff injury and business interruption need practice insurance.
Usually yes. Dental chairs, imaging, autoclaves and compressors are high value and can be damaged by fire, flood or breakdown. Standard contents cover may not include breakdown, so many practices add equipment or engineering cover. Clinical indemnity does not cover practice equipment.
It can be, through deterioration of stock cover, subject to the policy terms. Insurers commonly expect temperature monitoring, alarms and records similar to UKHSA guidance, which sets a range of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius and readings recorded each working day. Without the extension, spoilage is often excluded.
Many practice policies treat extra locum sessions, temporary premises and equipment hire as increased costs of working after insured damage, subject to the policy terms and limits. Check how the indemnity period and the basis of cover reflect both NHS and private income.
It is worth considering. Partners and directors can face claims about employment decisions, regulatory investigations or the running of the practice that clinical indemnity does not cover. Management liability can respond to some of these, subject to the wording and the practice structure.
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Book a programme review Get a quoteApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
