Insurance for Drug Stores
Simply by nature of the business, pharmacy and drug store operations are exposed to many different types of risk. The task of filling customer prescriptions in itself exposes the business to professional liability losses, if a mistake is made in drugs dispensed, a serious injury or death could result. The duties of a pharmacy include counseling customers with prescriptions as well as offering advice to those customers looking for an over-the-counter solution to an illness. The pharmacy staff work closely with medical professionals, insurance companies, as well as drug manufacturers or suppliers.
Why does a pharmacy need insurance?
The pharmacy faces not only the possibility of giving an incorrect prescription but also providing correct dispensing instructions and dosage of the medicine. There is a good chance of miscommunication between the prescribing physician and pharmacy staff or staff and the health insurer paying the prescription claim. Other risks involved include damage to owned property, premises related injuries, cyber exposures and legal compliance in several different areas. The industry-specific concerns can vary based on the size and the operations or service provided by the organization.
What operations need pharmacy insurance?
- Pharmacy wholesale or retail stores
- Drug stores
- Customized drug compounding pharmacies
- Pharmaceutical representatives or consultants
- Online drug stores or pharmacies
- Home delivery drug stores
What types of insurance does a pharmacy business need?
Because of the varied operations that can be included in a drug store or pharmacy, the following policies should be considered based on the unique operations of the business.
Professional Liability
Professional liability insurance is also known as Errors and Omission insurance. It covers the pharmacist and pharmacy staff for errors made or negligence in the rendering of professional services.
General Liability
General liability insurance provides needed coverage to businesses covering incidences such as physical bodily injury to a customer while in the store or after a product is purchased. General liability policy covers claims or lawsuits of bodily injury and property damage arising out of your work. Professional liability is always excluded under general liability. Limited coverage is included for personal and advertising injury, wrongful detention, libel, slander, copyright infringement to name a few types of incidences that could be covered.
Worker’s Compensation
This policy is primary for injuries to your employees while on-the-job. When your employee gets hurt on the job, workers compensation will pay the state mandated benefits such as a percentage of loss wages and all medical expenses incurred for the injury. This coverage is determined by each state’s rules and regulations. Though coverage may be similar, it is not identical in every state, nor are the conditions when it is required by statute. Be sure you check with your state’s workers compensation requirements.
Commercial property
This policy covers assets owned by the business such as a building, furniture and fixtures, electronics, and pharmaceutical and store inventory. The policy covers the repair or replacement costs for lost or damaged property caused by a covered peril. Common perils include fire, theft, vandalism, aircraft, wind, hail, riot, etc.
If you have medicines that require refrigeration, be sure to ask for spoilage coverage. Only with spoilage coverage is damage caused by a change in temperature a covered peril.
Cyber Insurance
Cyber insurance includes various first- and third-party type claims. It is a very customizable policy so you can choose to insure those types of losses relevant to your operations. Not only are there liability issues with incidents like data breach, but there could be resulting damage to your computer system. Coverage that can be included in a Cyber policy include computer fraud, ransomware, cyber extortion, data privacy liability, regulatory defense and penalty, privacy notification, crisis management expense and more. This policy is second only to your professional liability exposures, don’t operate without it.
What is the cost of pharmacy insurance?
The cost of the pharmacy business depends on the following factors:
- Location or area
- Values insured
- Claim history
- Business revenue
- Size of business operations
- Payroll
Running a pharmacy business is challenging, but dealing with lawsuits and financial losses can be exhausting. However, buying the right insurance will let you sleep at night.