Many optometrists assume their insurance coverage is comprehensive, until a claim reveals unexpected gaps. Ensuring your practice is fully protected goes beyond simply having a policy in place. It requires understanding how coverage applies to your business entity, associates and third parties.

In this article, we’ll walk through how to structure your policy to ensure everyone who needs protection is properly covered, along with key considerations around certificates of insurance and additional insureds.

Understanding Certificates of Insurance vs. Additional Insureds

To ensure your practice, its associates and third parties are properly insured, it’s crucial to first understand the difference between a certificate of insurance and an additional insured.

A certificate of insurance, or COI, provides proof to a third party, the certificate holder, that you have insurance coverage. COIs do not extend your insurance coverage to the certificate holder.

Examples of certificate holders: Your landlord or property manager, your employer, vendors or contractors.

An additional insured is a third party that can be held liable for your actions and needs to be covered by your insurance policy. It is important to note that if a third party needs protection under your policy, they must be added as an additional insured. It is not automatic.

Examples of additional insureds: Your business entity, bank, employer or health plan. A hospital or clinic that employs you or has a contract with you.

Ensuring your practice, associates and third parties are properly insured

Once you understand the difference between a certificate of insurance and an additional insured, it becomes easier to structure your insurance policy and ensure everyone who needs protection is properly covered.

Business entity

Personal coverage does not automatically protect a business entity. If your practice (e.g., an LLC) is named in a lawsuit but isn’t listed as an additional insured, it won’t be covered. Ensuring your legal entity is properly included is essential.

The fix: Add your business legal entity to your policy as an additional insured to ensure your business and associated DBAs are properly covered.

Office staff and paraoptometrics

A comprehensive Malpractice policy should extend coverage to staff acts, such as injuring a patient with a device, to protect the practice owner from vicarious liability. If your policy does not extend to staff acts, you may need to add your staff to your policy as additional insureds.

The fix: With a Malpractice policy from the AOA Insurance Program, employees are automatically covered while acting on behalf of you, the named insured, and within the scope of Optometry and their duties as an employee. No need to add them as additional insureds.

Associate ODs and opticians

While you may wish to add an associate doctor to avoid the risks of maintaining separate malpractice insurance, it is important to consider their employment status.

If an associate doctor you employ also works at another practice, it is likely best for them to have their own insurance policy. If they are covered under your group policy and face a claim for work done at another practice, the claim could affect your policy — even though the incident happened elsewhere.

Additionally, any opticians working at your practice may require their own licensing, so they should have separate coverage that covers their duties.

The fix: Encourage your associate doctors who work for other practices to get their own individual policy. Ensure your business entity is listed as an additional insured on that policy. This way, if both the associate doctor and your practice are named in a lawsuit, the claim goes through the associate doctor’s individual policy, protecting your group policy and your business from any unrelated claims.

Understanding Insurance with Support from Lockton Affinity

As the administrator of the AOA Insurance Program, Lockton Affinity is here to support the insurance needs of optometrists and their practices.

Lockton Affinity’s knowledgeable representatives can walk you through your certificates of insurance and additional insureds — answering your questions, helping you understand your options and ensuring your policy fits the unique needs of your practice.

With Lockton Affinity’s guidance, you can feel confident that everyone who needs protection is fully covered, allowing you to focus on what matters most: practicing with peace of mind.

To talk with a representative, call (888) 343-1998 Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or email Info@AOAInsuranceAlliance.com at your convenience.