Protecting Your Practice: Insurance and Benefits are a Key

Jeffry Peterson and John L. Peterson, CLU, Managing Partners, Berkshire Financial Group

Once you have established your practice, how do you insure that it will continue to grow and how do you protect what you have built?

Attracting And Retaining A Great Staff
Most business owners tell us that the key to their success is their employees. This is especially true in the field of healthcare. Often, your employees are the first people to deal with the public when they are introduced to your office and, first impression go a long way! Motivated, customer-focused employees that handle vendors, insurance companies, and patient questions free you up to do what you do best and enjoy most - working with patients.

With the economy roaring, and unemployment figures at an all-time low, great staff members are becoming harder to find. One way you can attract and retain them is with employee benefits, including group medical insurance, retirement plans and group life and disability coverage.

These plans, especially retirement programs are becoming increasingly important to employees when they are valuing employment opportunities. Employee Benefit Programs can be tailored to the specific needs of your practice (including allowing employees to share in the cost) and, your investment can provide tangible long term results in increased patient retention and referrals.

Protecting Your Practice
Protecting your investment in time and money is very critical. Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people. Through proper planning, bad times can be weathered and your practice can survive. Some insurance products that can help are:

Business overhead Protection.
Provides funds for you to pay your staff, utilities, rent, and all other fixed expenses in case of an injury or sickness that prevents you from working.
Individual Disability coverage.
Provides you with a replacement income in the same situation.
Property Insurance.
Makes sure your facility and equipment are properly insured so they can be replaced in the even t they are damaged or destroyed.

Summary
Employee benefits and proper insurance protection can go al long way when you are looking to protect your practice. Cost-effective planning allows you to retain good employees and insures that your practice will survive unexpected storms.

John Peterson, CLU (jopeter@berklife.com) and Jeffry Peterson (jpeters@berklife.com), coordinate Bastyr's Practice Management Course for 4th and 5th year students, and, are members of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. They can be reached via e-mail or at: 800-736-3170.