Clinic insurance in India: fire, liability and cyber Which policy covers the premises, which covers the doctor, and the gaps between them.

Insurance for a clinic in India is usually a set of three or four policies: a fire and allied perils policy for the premises, equipment and stock; professional indemnity for each doctor; public liability for injuries to patients and visitors that have nothing to do with treatment; and, if the clinic keeps patient data on computers or takes UPI and card payments, a cyber policy. None of these is required by the central clinic rules we read. Each has gaps the others fill, and the gaps are where claims get refused.

Which policy pays for which loss?

What does a fire policy for a clinic cover?

As an example we read IFFCO-Tokio's filed Standard Policy Wordings for Bharat Sookshma Udyam Suraksha (UIN IRDAN106RP0002V03202021), a fire and allied perils policy for small businesses. It covers "Your Insured Property relating to Your Business" at one location, "where the total value at risk across all insurable asset classes at one location is not exceeding ₹ 5 Crore" at the start of the policy. Insurable assets include buildings, furniture, fixtures and fittings, and plant and machinery, which the wording defines to include "All equipment, machinery, pipes and cables, spares, computers, servers".

Clause B lists the insured events: fire; explosion or implosion; lightning; earthquake and other convulsions of nature; storm, cyclone, flood and inundation; subsidence, landslide and rockslide; bush or forest fire; impact damage; missile testing operations; riot, strikes and malicious damage; acts of terrorism as per the terrorism clause; bursting or overflowing of water tanks and pipes; leakage from sprinklers; and theft within seven days of and caused by one of these events. The premium, the wording says, depends on the nature of the property, the sum insured, the nature of the business and its risk profile.

• Insure the building only if you own it. A tenant insures contents, equipment, fit-out and stock; the landlord insures the structure. Write who insures what into the lease.
• Value equipment at what it would cost to replace. Clause F of the wording we read says the sum insured for each item must cover reinstatement or replacement on the date of loss, and under-insurance reduces the claim in proportion; this product waives under-insurance up to 15%.
• If the equipment is on a bank loan, the policy will carry an Agreed Bank Clause and the claim is paid to the bank (Clause A and the Agreed Bank Clause).
• Medicines kept for dispensing are stock. The wording covers only property "declared and insured by You", so list them if you want them covered.

How is professional indemnity different from public liability?

Professional indemnity answers claims about the doctor's work. United India Insurance's prospectus for its Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy for Doctors (UIN IRDAN545RP0294V01200708) describes indemnity for claims arising out of "bodily injury and/or death of any patient caused by or alleged to have been caused error, omissions or negligence in professional service" by the insured, named qualified assistants, or a nurse or technician the insured employs. It is written on a claims-made basis with a retroactive date. Our post on professional indemnity insurance for doctors covers limits, retroactive dates and how to claim.

The same prospectus lists "third party public liability" among its exclusions, along with injury to the insured's own employees under a contract of employment. So a patient's relative who trips on a loose tile, or a ceiling fan that falls in the waiting area, is not a professional indemnity claim. That is what public liability cover is for. Ask the insurer for its filed public liability wording and check that a clinic open to the public is an accepted occupation.

Does a small clinic need cyber insurance?

A clinic that keeps patient records on a computer or in clinic software, takes UPI or card payments, and uses WhatsApp for patients has some cyber exposure: ransomware on the front-desk PC, a staff phone lost with patient chats on it, or a fraudulent transfer from the clinic account. General insurers sell cyber policies for individuals and businesses. We did not read a filed cyber wording for this post, so we do not describe what any one covers. When you ask for quotes, ask for the policy wording and the customer information sheet, and check four points: whether data restoration is covered, whether costs of handling a personal data breach are covered, whether third-party claims from patients are covered, and whether theft of funds needs a police complaint within a fixed time.

Insurance does not replace the duties a clinic has under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act as they come into force; our post on the DPDP Act for clinics sets out the dates.

What to check before buying any clinic policy

1. Ask for the filed policy wording with its UIN, not only a brochure.
2. Read the exclusions first, then the insured events.
3. Check the sum insured against replacement cost, item by item for equipment.
4. Check the address on the schedule matches the clinic; most property policies cover one location.
5. For liability policies, check the retroactive date and whether staff are named or covered by category.
6. Keep invoices, an equipment list with serial numbers, and photos of the premises, stored away from the clinic.
7. Diary renewal dates; a lapse breaks continuity on claims-made liability policies.