N. Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2014 Inside the Exceptional Practice | Page 28

Hocus Pocus and see insurance for what it really is; simply a financial tool for the transfer of risk. Sit down with someone who has the expertise to explain the component parts to you and help you to understand how they work together to address the risks that concern you most (and likely some you haven’t even considered). Create an insurance budget based on that advice. Once you’ve crafted a program that works to meet your specific requirements, plan to revisit and revise it from time to time as things change. Our lives are not static. What do you think is the most common mistake dentists make in their insurance decisions both personally and professionally? Kyle Wallace, CIC has been active in the insurance business since 1985 and started working exclusively with dentists in 1997. Terri Wallace has over 20 years of experience in managing small businesses. Kyle and Terri are the owners of Wallace Specialty Insurance Group in Richardson, Texas serving dentists throughout the Southwest. For more information, send an email to [email protected] or call 972-663-5190. A In your field of expertise what would be the most important advice you would offer a seasoned dentist and a new dentist? Q & KW: For both new and seasoned dentists, my first and most important piece of advice would be to think about your insurance program as a whole, not as individual policies, much in the same way you might think about your investment portfolio. Strip away the 28 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com KW: A common mistake among dentists is acting as their own insurance advisor and putting their insurance program in place in a piecemeal fashion buying a little here and a little there based on what they perceive to be a good deal. The reality is that in most cases this approach leads to overpaying for insurance, insuring for lesser or even unnecessary risks and completely missing others. They end up spending their insurance budget inefficiently and often times even ineffectively. There is an emotional component to the purchase of insurance, some forms more than others. Insurance sales people know this and often use it to their advantage, especially those who sell only one line of insurance. Take out the emotion and you’ll see the picture much more clearly. This will also help you to invest your insurance dollars wisely. Most of us understand the concept of getting what you pay for. It’s generally the reason we choose to purchase one thing over another. This concept holds true when applied to insurance. Unfortunately, there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to insurance. A few very vocal insurance companies have built marketing campaigns around the promise that you can get more coverage for less money and it’s just not true. You really do get what you pay for. Still, you don’t always have to buy the most expensive insurance to get what you need