Professional indemnity – GP
As a locum GP you see patients you do not know, with a record that only comes up on screen during the consultation. That is where most claims arise.
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- Help with claims
In brief
Claims against a GP are almost always about diagnosis and management: a heart attack not recognised and dismissed as indigestion, meningeal irritation missed in a child, anticoagulation continued incorrectly, a test result that comes in while you are already at another practice. Your standard is set out in Article 7:453 of the Dutch Civil Code: to act as a good care provider in line with the professional standard. When a claim arises, that standard is filled in by the guidelines and by the question whether the record shows your reasoning.
As a locum you are liable in your own right. Do not assume that you are covered by the policy of the practice where you are on duty: in most cases you are not an insured personthere, and in the locum agreement you often take on an indemnity. What you take on in that way, and which would not rest on you without that clause, remains uninsured on virtually every policy. So apply for your own cover that includes both injury and financial loss arising from professional practice.
If you work out-of-hours shifts at the GP out-of-hours service, report that explicitly. Night shifts, telephone triage and home visits form a different risk from a daytime practice. An ordinary public and employers' liability insurance does not help here; it covers the lamp that falls, not the missed diagnosis. See the liability insurance for care and welfare for the right form of policy.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV).
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Professional indemnity insurance (BAV)
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for as a locum
Four points that determine whether you are actually covered when a claim arises.
Your list of procedures must be complete
Minor surgery, IUD fitting, joint injections, Doppler examination and cosmetic procedures are assessed separately. If you carry out something that was not on your application, the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code and reduce or refuse payment. Update your declaration as soon as you start doing a new procedure, not at the next renewal.
Delegation to assistants and practice nurses
If you work with a doctor's assistant or a practice nurse acting under your responsibility, you remain liable for the instruction and the supervision. Under reserved procedures under the Wet BIG the instruction must be clear and competence must be established. A claim about an injection given incorrectly then comes to you, not to the assistant.
A disciplinary complaint usually falls outside
The disciplinary law in Article 47 of the Dutch Individual Healthcare Professions Act (Wet BIG) assesses your conduct as a professional, but does not award compensation. In principle, therefore, liability insurance does not come into play. Defence costs are only covered if a separate section for disciplinary law assistance is included, or through legal expenses insurance for self-employed professionals.
Three exclusions to be aware of
Outside the cover are: fines and disciplinary measures, damage caused by intent or wilful recklessness under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code, and claims already known or reasonably to be expected when the policy was taken out. Damage to property in your keeping, such as the practice's equipment, also falls under the care, custody and control exclusion.
What does your premium depend on?
- Turnover from locum work: the usual basis for the premium
- Share of out-of-hours and emergency shifts: shifts outside office hours have a different claims pattern
- Procedures alongside consultations: minor surgery and invasive procedures weigh more heavily
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
- Retroactive period: for consultations before the commencement date
- Disciplinary law assistance included: a separate section with its own limit
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| You interpret chest pain during an evening shift as indigestion and the patient turns out to have had a heart attack | No | Yes |
| An assistant working under your responsibility gives an injection incorrectly | No | Yes |
| A laboratory result comes in after your locum period has ended and no action follows | No | Provided that |
| Alongside your GP work you give cosmetic injections, an activity outside the professional capacity you declared | No | No |
| A patient trips over your bag in the consulting room | Yes | No |
| You suffer a needlestick injury yourself during a home visit and are off work for a long time | No | No |
This policy pays someone who brings a claim against you. For your own absence from work you still need disability insurance (AOV).
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
The practice says I am covered by their policy. Is that enough?
Only if it is in black and white. Ask for written confirmation that you are included as an insured person on the policy, stating the period and the activities. If that is missing, you are a party in your own right when a claim arises and you also carry the defence costs. Your own policy costs less than a single set of proceedings you have to run alone.
A complaint only comes in years after the locum work. Am I still covered?
That depends on your run-off period. The cover runs on a claims-made basis: the moment of notification determines which policy the claim falls under. If you stop doing locum work or switch insurers, arrange run-off cover, because with diagnostic errors in particular it takes a long time before the consequences become visible. Report a claim as soon as you know of it; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to do so.
Is the loss of a patient who falls in the consulting room covered?
No, not on professional indemnity insurance. That is not an error in professional practice but ordinary business liability, and it runs through the AVB of the practice where you work. As a locum without your own practice premises you rarely need a policy of your own for that, but it is sensible to know who does have one.
What if I fall ill or am unable to work?
This insurance then does nothing. It pays a third party who brings a claim against you. You arrange your own income during illness with disability insurance. For a locum with no practice organisation behind them that is often the more urgent of the two policies, because no turnover continues during absence.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare professional indemnity insurance (BAV)The main page
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