Your hands and back do the heavy lifting
Chiropractic work involves applying controlled force through your hands and arms many times a day, often while leaning over a treatment table. Wrist, thumb and shoulder problems are common over a long career, and back pain can follow years of awkward positions.
A hand injury that would be a nuisance in many jobs could stop you practising. Insurers place occupations into risk classes and apply a definition when you claim. Own occupation cover asks whether you can work as a chiropractor.
Self-employed income and no sick pay
Whether you rent a room in someone else's clinic or run your own, your income depends on appointments. There is no employer sick pay and state support is limited. A short deferred period means your policy starts paying soon after you stop working.
Insurers base the amount of cover on your profits from recent tax returns. If your income has grown, they may average your recent years.
- Associate chiropractors: paid per patient, no sick pay
- Clinic owners: personal income plus business costs
- New graduates: insurers may look at limited trading history
Protecting the clinic as well as your income
If you own a clinic, rent, staff wages and equipment finance continue while you recover. If the clinic depends on you, key person cover pays it a lump sum and loan protection settles what it owes. Partners can use partnership or shareholder protection to buy out a share.
Life insurance for your family sits alongside this. A personal policy written in trust can clear the mortgage and give your family a lump sum.
Insuring a practice in its first years
Insurers set income protection limits using your earnings, so a clinic that has only traded for a short time can limit how much cover you can buy at first. Some insurers will take account of previous employed income or a forecast in certain cases.
As your client list and profits grow, review your cover so it keeps up. Ask about options to increase cover later without new medical questions, which can be useful while the business is still finding its level.
How Hi Tomorrow helps chiropractors
We look at your accounts, clinic arrangements and how much of the business depends on you. Then we compare own occupation terms from the insurers on our panel and help you apply, including questions about any past hand, wrist or back trouble.