Optometrist Insurance

Optometrist Liability Insurance

Protect your practice from costly lawsuits and enjoy peace of mind with an optometrist insurance policy built around your business.

Zensurance - Optometrist

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Optometry Professional

Insurance for optometrists

As an optometrist, the role you play in a patient’s care is extremely important. Vision is taken for granted by many of us, but without the services of optometrists and opticians, there’d be far fewer people that could visually enjoy the beauty of the world around us.

As with any industry, there is always a chance that an accident can happen. When that risk involves a client’s eyesight, it can quickly become a serious claim that’s incredibly costly to your business if you don’t have adequate insurance protection.

Optometrist insurance is the name given to a group of policies that protect the services and solutions provided by optometrists in Canada.

Optometrist coverage may protect you from things such as general liability claims, allegations of professional malpractice, and damage to your property if caused by an insurable event.

A comprehensive insurance for optometrists will typically include the following coverages:

  • Professional Liability Insurance:  Also referred to as medical malpractice insurance, this policy provides coverage for allegations of misconduct, negligence, and failure to deliver a professional service as promised. For example, you prescribe your client +5.00 glasses but they complain a week later of severe headaches. You realize your prescription was too strong for their vision based on when you recheck their assessment. They sue you for negligence – your insurance may cover legal fees and related monetary judgments.
  • Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance: This insurance protects you from general risks you may encounter during day-to-day business operations, including third-party property damage or bodily injuries (such as a slip-and-fall). For example, you accidentally break a client’s existing glasses when testing their flexibility. In this scenario, you could be covered financially by CGL to replace their broken glasses.
    • Product liability insurance: As part of a CGL policy, you can be protected against property damage or bodily injury allegations due to a product you sell, manufacture, or distribute in your clinic. Most product liability claims arise from an issue with the product, such as incorrect labelling or manufacturing defects. For example, a client suffers an allergic reaction to the glasses cleaner you sold them with their new glasses. In this case, your product liability insurance could cover the medical fees and legal expenses.
  • Commercial Property Insurance: Commercial property insurance protects your property (physical location, equipment, inventory) from an insured event, such as a fire, severe storm or theft. For example, if your location suffered smoke damage after a fire in the neighbouring unit, your commercial property insurance policy could cover the cleanup costs and the costs to repair or replace damaged property.
  • Equipment Breakdown Insurance: Equipment breakdown insurance protects your optometry’s expensive equipment by providing funds to repair or replace it if it malfunctions because of internal damage, such as a power surge, electrical short, or mechanical failure. It also covers your clinic’s office equipment such as computers, photocopiers, landline telephones, and fax machines. However, this coverage does not pay for damage to your equipment due to wear and tear or operator error. It also does not cover damage or loss resulting from fire, flood, theft, or extreme weather (commercial property insurance will protect your equipment and business contents from fire, flood, or theft).

The cost of insurance will vary based on several factors of your optometry practice:

  • Business size
  • The types of services you provide and the products you sell
  • Training, education, certifications and experience
  • Annual and projected revenue
  • Services provided
  • Location of business

Optometrists that offer their services at a clinic or independently should carry an optometrist insurance policy to safeguard their business practices.

Be sure to research if there are legal insurance requirements and limits needed to offer optometry services within your province. For example, to practice optometry in Ontario, carrying insurance of a minimum limit of $2 million is required.

Getting insured is quick and easy!

Complete our 5-minute online application for a free optometrist liability insurance quote.

Common claims scenarios

Optometry Exam Customer

Problem: While getting into the exam chair, a client falls and is seriously injured.

Outcome: Your commercial general liability policy may cover the cost of their medical bills.

Problem: A water pipe burst in your clinic, causing damage to the ceiling, walls, flooring and some equipment.

Outcome: Your commercial property insurance policy may cover the structural damage and damage to your equipment.

Optometrist applying eye drops

Problem: During an exam, you accidentally poke a client in the eye while administering dilating eye drops.

Outcome: Your professional liability insurance policy may cover the medical costs for their eye damage.

Frequently asked questions

Will my optometrist insurance cover other services that I provide?

Yes. During the application process, you’ll have the opportunity to share details about the services you offer. The services you offer are a factor in your coverage recommendations and the calculated premium.

How much malpractice insurance coverage do I need?

In some provinces, there are legal insurance requirements and monetary limits needed to offer optometry services. Research the requirements for your province to ensure your insurance limits will be adequate.

Do I need to get my liability insurance from my college of optometrists?

No, while you can choose to purchase your insurance through your college of optometry, you have the option to buy coverage from elsewhere too. By shopping around, you’ll find a variety of coverage options and price points that may better suit your needs.

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Optometrist insurance is an essential requirement for anyone offering optometry services in Canada.

Get a step closer to protecting your practice with a free quote from Zensurance.