You never know what's going to happen. One day things are going smoothly at work and all of a sudden, someone has an accident or has to miss a significant amount of time due to illness or for some other reason. This can have a devastating effect on the rest of the staff who are left trying to cover for the missing employees. And hiring a locum out of pocket can be dreadfully expensive. If you have locum insurance cover, you can offset these costs and continue providing necessary services to the public. These are some commonly asked questions and answers related to locum cover.
Q: What exactly is locum insurance?
First, we have to know what a locum is. A locum is a temporary fill-in or a substitute. Their job is to perform the duties of someone who is temporarily unable to work. Common professions that use locums are physicians, chiropractors, pharmacists, veterinarians, dentists, surgeons, and so on. Since locums must be ready to fill in at a moment's notice, the pay for these professional is quite high. Since the price of employing locums comes dearly, certain insurance firms provide locum cover to ease the monetary burden of the practice. The insurer will pay the practice weekly to recompense for the absent worker until they can come back to work; they can pay for as much as 12 months. That way, you can either pay for a locum or if you can't find one, pay extra for existing staff to temporarily step in.
Q: What do I have to do to acquire locum insurance?
It is quick and simple to obtain. Lots of insurers provide the service on their websites, making it convenient to receive a price quote, apply, and to buy that day. The obvious benefit to this is that you can compare rates from the comfort of your home and decide what's right for you. Don't forget that lower-priced doesn't translate into the best coverage. Price is important, but as with any insurance, you must make sure you're sufficiently covered.
Q: Does locum insurance cover any time lost from work?
The laws of a policy vary as far as stipulations are concerned. For the most part, locum insurance reimburses you for these incidents: time out for serving on jury duty, short-term illness, long-term medical care, and serious injury or death. This covers accidents which don't happen at the workplace. But it doesn't cover time missed because of substance abuse, mental illness, or reckless personal conduct. A persons age is counted too. The average range is 18 - 65.
Q: How frequently will my payments come due and what amount of cover does this involve?
It's up to the your provider, though many companies sign you up on a yearly basis. Depending on the amount you are willing to pay out, you can receive somewhere in the neighbourhood of £200 and £3,000 each week.
When you have locum insurance cover, you've no reason to worry. You can shelter your place of business and if a setback transpires, then you'll be able to carry on “business as usual”.