Professional indemnity insurance is a mandatory requirement for all practising dentists and dental care professionals in the UK. This coverage ensures that patients can receive compensation if they suffer harm due to negligence or errors during dental treatment. The General Dental Council (GDC) mandates that dental professionals maintain appropriate indemnity or insurance cover to protect patients and comply with legal obligations.
Several organisations provide professional indemnity insurance for dental professionals in the UK, including:
Dental Defence Union (DDU): A specialist division of the Medical Defence Union, the DDU offers professional dental indemnity and dento-legal guidance to dentists and dental care professionals.
Dental Protection (a subsidiary of the Medical Protection Society): Provides professional indemnity and expert advice to dental professionals worldwide, including those in the UK.
Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS): Offers professional indemnity and medico-legal advice to healthcare professionals across the UK.
British Dental Association (BDA) Indemnity: Provides professional dental indemnity cover tailored for modern dentistry, offering protection and flexibility to its members.
All Med Pro: A leading UK provider of dental indemnity insurance, offering coverage for legal costs and compensation payouts in cases of clinical errors or patient dissatisfaction.
Howden UK: Provides dental indemnity insurance to protect dental professionals against claims of harm caused to patients during their practice.
When selecting a provider, it’s essential to consider the scope of coverage, the level of support offered, and the terms and conditions to ensure they align with your professional practice and meet GDC requirements.
Indemnity guidance
Dental professionals are required by law to have appropriate indemnity or insurance in place before they practise. This is to ensure any patient who suffers harm in the course of a treatment can seek appropriate compensation.
Dental professionals are also required by the GDC to declare that they have, or will have, indemnity or insurance in place to cover their work. This must be done when joining the GDC register and during the annual renewal periods (November/December for Dentists and June/July for Dental Care Professionals).
For more information, download our Guidance on indemnity and insurance.
The Guidance on Indemnity and Insurance has been updated following a consultation in 2023.
Although the updated guidance does not introduce any new requirements for dental professionals, it clarifies the requirements around holding cover that will compensate patients who have suffered harm, in the event of a successful claim. This updated guidance now includes an explanation of the different types of cover available and the additional benefits that dental professionals should consider when arranging cover, such as advice and support for their wellbeing during a claim.
The guidance also now includes a checklist and series of questions for dental professionals to consider when choosing an indemnity or insurance cover – all of which is there to make it easier for dental professionals to decide on the type and level of cover they’ll need to protect themselves and their patients.
Indemnity requirement
When you join the register or renew your registration, you must declare that you have, or will have, indemnity in place to cover you in your work. You must have indemnity to cover any claim for compensation that a patient may be entitled to.
For more information, download our indemnity guidance.
This is not a new requirement – dental professionals have always been required to have appropriate indemnity arrangements in place so that patients can claim any compensation to which they may be entitled. This requirement is part of the Standards.
In November 2015 we changed our registration rules so that dentists and dental care professionals applying for registration or restoration, and those renewing their registration each year, will need to tell us that they have indemnity cover in place – or will have by the time they start practising.
This means you won’t be able to register or renew your registration unless you confirm that you have, or will have appropriate indemnity cover in place.
DCPs will have to make this declaration during their annual renewal period in June/July.
Dentist will have to make this declaration during their annual renewal period in November/December.
If you do not have your own indemnity cover, for example you are covered under your employer’s policy, you will need to make sure you have, or can access, the details of the policy.
It is your responsibility to ensure you have appropriate cover for your scope of practice. If you are an employing dentist with DCPs covered under your policy, you will need to make the appropriate information available to them should they require it.
Please remember – making a false declaration to the GDC is a serious issue. If you declare to the GDC that you have appropriate indemnity in place and this is found to be false, this may be considered as a fitness to practise matter.