A veterinary practice can be a lucrative business venture to invest in especially if you are looking to take it into your retirement. Like any other venture, vet practice needs to have an insurance cover for various reasons. There are different types of insurance cover that you can get for your practice. Moreover, the type of cover you choose will depend on your preferences as well as the availability of the veterinary practice insurance providers and the options they provide.
Why Veterinarians Need Business Insurance
Caring for animals and providing pet owners with the necessary help to keep their pets in perfect health is quite a noble cause. However, anything could go wrong when caring for these helpless creatures and you might have to put some contingencies in place. Say an animal bit someone and you are the vet who brought the animal in the vicinity. In such a case, you will be held liable for any treatment required.
Besides animal bites, the veterinary practice requires a permanent structure where every asset will be stored. Structures can be hit with earthquakes or accidental fires and the loss incurred in such cases can be devastating.
To prevent all these events from drilling a hole into your income, you will need to get a veterinary practice insurance cover.
A veterinary practice insurance cover will ensure that you don’t incur heavy losses without a recovery plan. The purpose of these covers serves to restore you to the initial financial status before the occurrence of the risks insured.
Types of Business Insurance Cover
If you are planning to open a vet practice and are planning to insure it, you should do research about the available insurance cover providers and the types of cover they provide. That said, here are the three common business insurance covers you can take for your veterinary practice.
Property coverage is not only a good way to protect your finances in case of property damage but it might also be a requirement by law to operate a veterinary business. This type of cover is taken to insure your premises as well as any medical facilities and equipment. Property insurance cover is necessary because a wild animal brought in by forest rangers for treatment could easily get loose and cause damage. This type of cover also includes theft and fires but the specific policy will determine the items insured under this cover.
Income protection is a necessity because of the income disparity experienced in the veterinary practice. In this type of cover, the insured customer gets payment periodically. Every vet owner can ascertain that there are days your practice can have only a single client while on other days you can get lucky and serve 100 clients. If you haven’t started your vet practice yet, you should be prepared to hit or miss. Well, having the business income protection insurance cover can be great if you end up missing.
You can’t run a veterinary practice alone. You need the help of some staff. Therefore, getting a general liability insurance will protect your employees in case they get hurt while at work. This cover also protects your customers or pets that get hurt while at your clinic. To avoid any court battles with your employees or customers, get a general liability insurance cover today.
Insurance is not a new idea and every business has types of covers most relevant to it. The above three covers will give you peace of mind as you go about managing your vet practice.
Prospective veterinary practice buyers should understand which insurance policies they will need when buying a veterinary practice. There are bank required insurance policies that must be obtained in order to secure financing and there are also elective insurances that are not required but probably needed.
Insurance is always an important topic, but if you are hoping to finance the purchase of a new veterinary practice, insurance becomes an imperative part of your loan as well. Given the high risk associated with funding a loan of this type, lenders may require proof of contents coverage, liability, life, disability, or medical insurance in place before they will close on the loan. 
The subject of insurance has been hotly debated in just about every industry in America. However, it's an unescapable truth that your veterinary practice needs to be properly insured to protect you, your business and your clients. If you're new to business ownership, where do you even begin shopping for insurance? This guide will walk you through the most important parts of the puzzle.
"Praxis sold my practice for 57% more than I had been offered 2 years prior. We received multiple offers and sold my practice for over 100% of revenue. Their expertise in law, finance, valuation, tax, and real estate gave them the unique perspective to succeed in selling my practice when others had previously failed. My broker negotiated and achieved my desired work schedule within my retirement timetable. We favorably allocated the sales price which provided me with as much of the sales proceeds as possible. Praxis is a company that I would recommend to my colleagues and a comprehensive service that more than pays for itself."
Dr. John Kasmersky, Seller Broadway Animal Hospital
"Praxis listened to my objectives, targeted the right buyers and advised me on how to make my practice more attractive to those buyers. We received multiple offers and sold my practice for over 120% of revenue. This was more than I had expected. The brokerage fee was the lowest in the industry and included the appraisal and the contract. There was no out of pocket cost because I paid the fee with the proceeds from the sale. They were not only knowledgeable and attentive but also communicative and accessible."
Dr. James Pearce Stage Road Animal Hospital
Are you a veterinary practitioner who wishes to sell off their practice? Then, we at Praxis will ensure that you find the right buyer who not only offers the best price but also understands your practice ethos, work culture, and will be able to continue your legacy forward. Praxis is a leading veterinary practice transition firm, serving veterinary practitioners in the USA for the last 25 years. With a team comprising of professional consultants from the finance, marketing,legal and veterinary fields- we’ve got your back!
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