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Page written by Chris Godfrey. Last reviewed on September 21, 2024. Next review due April 6, 2025.
As a health provider, supporting the vision of many customers per year, your optician’s business is vulnerable to a unique set of risks. Business insurance for opticians is specifically designed to shield opticians from these unusual threats – delivering A to Z protection and reducing the possibility of catastrophic financial claims if things should go wrong.
Optician shops can be busy places. With high foot traffic and a variety of complex tests and examinations going on at any time, the potential for accidental personal injuries or property damage are high. Factor in fire and flood hazards, theft of equipment and inventory and the loss of sensitive client data and the risks go off the chart. With some compensation claims reaching into the six figures bracket, it doesn’t make sense for optician shops to go without insurance.
Protect your business from events such as:
Most compensation claims start with something small. A customer trips on a loose electrical cable in your shop, falls and breaks their arm. Or they claim that an eye exam has caused them physical injury. Or a supplier is hurt when delivering products to your store. Simple accidents have the potential to generate large claims for medical treatment, rehabilitation costs, loss of income and legal fees.
An employee suffers back strain when moving a heavy piece of optical equipment. Or they catch their fingers in a sliding door. Regardless of how it happened, your business could be facing compensation costs, plus the expense of hiring a temporary replacement until the employee is back to health.
Hackers break into your server and steal your customer records, including medical records and identifying data. Or ransomware hits your systems and locks you out until your pay an eye-watering sum. The fact is, your data is your business. If it is compromised or it exposes others to risk, you could be liable for compensation claims plus costs to fix the breach.
Opticians’ insurance is an umbrella term for a range of policies that you can include in a package to protect your business from almost any risk:
Public liability insurance can protect your business if someone is injured, or their property is damaged because of the services that you or your business provides. This type of cover, also known as PL or liability insurance, is designed to protect your optician’s shop against third-party claims for injuries or property damage from a customer or client, passer-by, or a visitor to your business premises – whether you’re at fault or not.
Cyber and data insurance protects opticians businesses from financial loss created by data breaches and cyber-attacks. It covers legal claims, compensation costs, and fines under the GDPR (where legally insurable). In some cases, it can also provide a fast response plan including legal, IT, PR and customer service support.
Employer’s liability (EL) insurance protects you and your employees, (including those who no longer work for you), should they be injured or become unwell as a result of working for your business. Under the Employers Liability Act of 1969, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for most UK employers. Your policy must cover you for at least £5 million and come from an authorised insurer. Your business can be fined up to £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured.
Depending on the policies you include in your package, opticians’ insurance can cover you for:
From the valuable equipment your business uses, to the need to operate a professional working environment, protect client data and uphold the trust your customers place in you, your business faces a wide array of risks. Simple accidents, errors, omissions, or incorrect advice have the potential to create claims for compensation that could reach the tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.
In 2023, the average UK public liability claim was £13,500 plus defendant’s legal expenses. Even a sum like this could drive many opticians into insolvency. Opticians’ insurance is the only way to ensure your business is not at risk from events beyond your control.
Premiums for opticians insurance can start at less than £50 per month, but the price you pay will depend on your business location, your turnover, the number of clients you serve and a host of other factors that make every quote unique.
Written by
Chris is a freelance copywriter and content creator. He has been active in the marketing, advertising, and publishing industries for more than twenty-five years. Writing for Barclays Bank, Metro Bank, Wells Fargo, ABN Amro, Quidco, Legal and General, Inshur Zego, AIG, Met Life, State Farm, Direct Line, insurers and pension funds, his words have appeared online and in print to inform, entertain and explain the complex world of consumer and business finance and insurance.
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