Insurance broker Crombie Lockwood has partnered with CMI Optical to offer New Zealand practices and optometry supply businesses a lower-cost, optometry-specific insurance policy.

To his knowledge there is no other industry insurance package designed solely for the optometry industry, said CMI Optical director Brad Boult. The partnership’s national insurance model exploits economies of scale to offer practices an average saving of 25% on existing insurance policies, he said. Cover is specifically tailored to optometrists, with CMI having played a key part in advising Crombie Lockwood about equipment failure, financial losses arising from business interruptions and professional indemnity.

CMI Optical director Brad Boult

“Professional indemnity is an important aspect of the package,” said Boult. “It covers all staff in the practice, not just optometrists and dispensing opticians. From an insurance perspective, making a mistake when working with a patient’s eyes can have a devastating effect and potentially lead to costly litigation against the individual optometrist as well as the practice itself. This is by far the largest exposure that an optometrist faces, so we wanted to ensure that each practice knows our insurance programme has them covered for what matters most.”

The package is available now, with Chris Bull, business development manager at Crombie Lockwood, providing quotes to practices. “While Chris doesn’t have an optometry background, he does have 22 years of experience in the insurance industry and specialises in negotiating and implementing national facilities. His working knowledge of the optometry industry, along with my professional input, ensures that the scope of cover matches the operational risks that an optometrist faces on a daily basis,” said Boult, adding that policy holders can also access a dedicated service team based in Auckland.

CMI Optical has moved its insurance across and Boult said he is very happy with the savings, which go straight to the bottom line. “Utilising your collective purchasing power is a great way to ensure you obtain the most cost-effective premiums when purchasing insurance. It also enables you to negotiate additional layers of protection that are not offered as standard by insurers. For example, you have access to one-hour free legal advice as part of the insurance package, as well as commercial legal expenses cover for both defence and pursuit cases (the latter usually being a standard exclusion).

“Over time, as more practices join the facility, our ability to negotiate further improvements increases, so each practice will continue to see financial and coverage benefits for years to come,” he said.