Insurance shortage could hamper patient treatment
October, 2011
Insurance shortage could hamper patient treatment
A shortage of insurance policies for smaller firms could prevent NHS patients benefiting from the latest healthcare devices, warns specialist product insurance broker, ADF Insurance.
The founder of ADF Insurance, Andrew Flavell, has spotted a startling gap in the provision available for healthcare equipment manufacturers, who require product liability insurance for their devices in order to supply the NHS. This hugely expensive policy can be a barrier for start-ups or smaller firms with constrained cash flow.
“Many new healthcare products are being developed by entrepreneurs and smaller companies, but they are simply being overlooked by the major insurance brokers,” said Andrew. “As SMEs, they cannot afford the large upfront costs demanded by these bigger firms, yet they find that the smaller brokers are unwilling or unable to take the risks associated with medical devices.”
It means that NHS patients could be denied the treatment or care they need, simply because the manufacturers cannot afford to insure their products. With an aging population and a greater demand than ever for products to support people with chronic conditions, this is a growing market and one that Andrew is already exploring.
“The medical device market already forms about 40% of my portfolio, but I see this growing rapidly so I’m focusing about 70% of my new business effort targeting healthcare businesses,” he added.
By working with healthcare industry specialist MedilinkWM, Andrew has gained valuable information about the industry and its requirements as well as the risks and the challenges that companies face. By combining his technical understanding of the insurance sector with this knowledge of the medical market, he has been able to provide affordable policies that cover up to £5m, enabling the NHS to adopt new products.
Through introductions by MedilinkWM, ADF Insurance has worked with the sanitary protection provider Mooncup and product manufacturer Malvern Orthopaedics, among others, to provide insurance they were unable to find elsewhere.
MedilinkWM’s membership manager Sue Wilde commented: “Product liability insurance is a major hurdle for many medical device manufacturers and we’re excited to see many new products reaching patients for the first time with help from ADF Insurance. With so much investment going into new product development by private industry and such economic importance being placed on this sector by the Government, it’s vital that the insurance sector gets to grips with this market quickly. By linking up firms with ADF Insurance, we’re already making big leaps forward.”
For more information about how we can help arrange insurance for medical device manufacturers please do not hesitate to contact me.
