Are you properly protected? How to pick the right insurance for your practice

Are you properly protected? How to pick the right insurance for your practice

Balens provide a combined liability policy that can protect you and your business against:

• Professional liability and malpractice – can cover you if a client alleges negligence, error or omission in your professional services or treatments, including injury, illness or financial loss arising from your work.
• Public liability – can cover you if a member of the public suffers injury (for example, a slip, trip or fall) or property damage in connection with your business activities, other than from the treatment itself.
• Products liability – Can cover you if a product you supply, sell or use in your work (such as oils, creams, equipment or supplements) causes injury, illness or property damage.

However, it can be confusing to know what type of liability policy you need to protect your business.

It doesn’t need to be complicated. At Balens, we offer three main ways to protect you and your business:

Individual Policy

Perfect if you work for yourself as a self employed therapist/practitioner or have a sole trader limited company.

• Covers you for the professional services and treatments you provide
• Travels with you across locations - clinics, rented rooms, home visits (within territorial limits, extensions are available for temporary trips abroad
• Ideal if you don’t employ others and are responsible only for your own work.

If you’re essentially a 'one person business', this is usually the place to start.

Individual Policy - Case example

Steve has just qualified as a nutritional therapist and sets up his business under the trading name ‘Steve’s Nutritional Advice’.

He works from home and online, providing one to one nutritional consultations and personalised dietary plans for his clients. Steve is a sole trader and does not advertise, take payments or make bookings for any other practitioners.

Because he is working only for himself and is responsible solely for his own professional work, Steve contacts Balens to purchase an Individual Professional Liability & Malpractice policy via the Affinities team.

Contingent Cover

This is aimed at people who have other self employed practitioners linked to their business - for example, where your business name or brand is used, or where you are responsible for taking payments, bookings or advertising their services.

• Covers your vicarious liability - claims made against you for work done by others engaged by you
• Designed to protect your business or brand, but the individual self-employed therapists and practitioners need to be suitably qualified and hold their own insurance.
• Useful for clinic owners, group practice leads or businesses that need cover for work carried out by self employed practitioners working independently, and not under their supervision, direction or control.

If your customers see others working under your umbrella, even where you are not responsible for employing them, contingent cover helps protect you for that.

Contingent Cover - Case example

Gemma is a qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist. Her business is set up as ‘Gemma’s Talking Therapies Ltd’ and she is the only person working under the business. She has been in practice for 7 years and has always held an individual insurance policy.

As Gemma’s business grows, she can no longer keep up with demand and decides to bring in another practitioner to help. She engages another professional who works under her business name three days a week. This practitioner is self-employed and works independently, not under Gemma’s supervision, direction or control.

Gemma contacts Balens, and feels a contingent clinic policy could help protect her business in the event of a claim relating to work carried out by the self-employed practitioner. They explain that it is a condition of the policy that Gemma ensures the practitioner is suitably qualified and holds their own professional liability insurance.

Clinic Policy

Once things get a bit bigger or more complex, a Clinic Policy can be a better fit.

• Covers the clinic or business entity, not just one person
• Can include multiple practitioners and support staff (depending on how the policy is set up)
• Can insure the business whether the practitioners are employed or self-employed.
• Balens will need information on your business set up and all practitioners under the policy must be suitably qualified and where self-employed, they will require their own individual insurance.
• Please note, where you have employees, it is important that you take out Employers Liability insurance, which is a legal requirement.

If you’re running a clinic, group practice or business with several people involved, this is could be the most appropriate option.

Clinic Policy - case example

Mike is a qualified Yoga Teacher and is planning to open his own studio, ‘Mike’s Yoga World Ltd’.

He intends to employ three full-time yoga teachers and hire a receptionist. He also plans to rent rooms to self-employed practitioners offering sports massage, reflexology and Pilates. These self-employed therapists will be advertised on his website, and the receptionist will handle their bookings and take payments on their behalf.

Balens Clinic Policy can cover the yoga studio and those working for, or under, the business name. They explain that it is a condition of the insurance that all self-employed practitioners are suitably qualified and hold their own individual insurance cover. Balens also outline other policies that may be required, such as Employers’ Liability (a legal requirement where staff are employed), and appropriate buildings or contents cover.

Quick guide to which policy you may need

• Working solo, no staff? → Individual Policy could be suitable
• Using self employed therapists under your banner? Taking payments, advertising or making bookings for other practitioners? → Contingent Cover could be suitable
• Running a clinic or multi practitioner business? → Clinic Policy could be suitable 

The right policy should feel like a safety net, not a headache.

Once you know how you work - on your own, with others, or as a clinic - the choice becomes much clearer.

Any questions?

Get in touch with the Balens team. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute insurance, legal or financial advice. Insurance needs will vary between practitioners and businesses, and the cover available will depend on your individual circumstances, insurer and policy terms. Policy wordings, limits, conditions and exclusions always apply; you should read your documentation carefully and seek professional or independent advice if you are unsure what cover you need. Any case examples are illustrative only and do not guarantee that similar situations would be covered.

 

FP26343 - Sep 2026