Whether you are a Practice Manager, General Practitioner or somebody else within your healthcare organisation, your practice’s insurance acts as a safety net for a wide range of events. The variation, severity and frequency of claims can shift just like trends. This can be based on regulations, healthcare trends and even medical innovations. For instance, the global rise of AI has brought new opportunities but also new areas of risk.
It is crucial to review the risks that might affect your healthcare organisation annually with a specialised insurance adviser. As 2025 draws to a close, now is the perfect time for General Practices to reflect on the year’s most common claims and consider how their cover would respond in similar situations.
Long-term Absence of Staff
Whilst we all experience the occasional sick day, long-term absence is typically defined as 4 weeks and over. These kinds of absences have significantly risen since pre-pandemic levels as a result of long-covid experiences and an increasing pressure on NHS staff, causing burnout or those wanting to leave the profession altogether.
Extended absences can leave Practice Managers with the operational and financial strain of resourcing, either using an externally hired locum or shift rotation of remaining staff members.
A bespoke Locum Insurance policy can alleviate some of this burden on Practice Managers. Where the NHS provides reimbursement costs to practice’s, MIAB’s Locum Insurance offering is available as both a “top-up” to the NHS reimbursements and as a benefit-driven policy. This means that receipts are not always necessary, whereas traditional indemnified policies require them.
In addition to long-term sickness, our offering covers unexpected absences such as maternity, compassionate leave or even jury service.
Accidental Damage or Impact
An unlikely claim which has become a concern for General Practice’s throughout 2025 has been accidental damage and impact to GP premises. Accidents do happen, and we have seen a number of practices claiming on instances where patients have accidentally driven into the practice or damaged the property.
The ownership of your practice’s building determines where the onus of accidental damage falls. However, as a Practice Manager, it is vital to prepare for trends such as these.
Even if the property is owned by somebody outside of the organisation, an adviser will be able to help you take into account hidden costs of these events. Whether that’s through an appropriate Business Interruption cover or amending the Public Liability you should already have in place.
Dissatisfied Treatment
Medical Malpractice claims made against healthcare professionals can be financially and professionally devastating.
External factors like new regulations and wider industry trends all influence how claims can be made against those working in healthcare. For example, in September 2025 the NHS introduced a publication that holds General Practitioner’s accountable if a patient books more than 3 appointments regarding the same condition or symptom. Jess’s Rule: Three Strikes and we rethink showcases the review of negligence within practices and the growing importance of Medical Malpractice policies as a form of protection for yourself.
Being specialists in healthcare organisations and professionals, we are also able to offer Medical Indemnity Insurance for those who have been refused or are struggling to source cover. So that you can keep practicing with the confidence and assistance of one of our specialists.
Employee Negligence
Not all negligence claims can be made by patients. The UK is slowly coming up to speed US litigious activity, with “around 72% of UK employers reporting an increase in the number of legal cases over the past 5 years” (2). When you have increased responsibilities as a director or manager, the risks from your statutory activities also increase. Employment disputes, regulatory breaches or even criminal investigations can all be seen as a potential claim.
For peace of mind, managers may wish to seek further protection that is specific to their day-to-day tasks and activities.
Escape of Water
There are some circumstances for which a claim can feel unavoidable due to their nature. Escape of water has been a common claim of 2025 due to factors such as changing weather and a warming climate.
Water tanks, boilers and pipes are just a few risks to a general practice that can lead to an escape of water claim. To best prepare for an event such as this, look to review your Business Interruption, Property Owner’s policy or Practice Insurance policies and prioritise up-to-date details.
Understanding the variety of risks that can affect your General Practice is essential to sourcing the right insurance protection in place, but luckily you don’t have to do it alone. Reviewing your policies annually with a specialist adviser helps safeguard the financial stability and operational continuity.
Want to discuss a policy with us?
You can submit an enquiry using our email info@miab.co.uk
Or phone us to speak to a specialist on 01438 730210
