Speaker 1 0:00

You're listening to Confidence to Thrive, the podcast for ambitious healthcare practitioners and entrepreneurs, brought to you by our literature advisors. In this episode of Confidence to Thrive, we're going to dive into the reasons why the private healthcare sector deserves better for its insurance and indemnity provision. Specifically, we look at why there is a gap between what is currently provided and why those businesses who are pioneering and working at the leading edge of private healthcare in areas such as functional medicine, mental health and aesthetics have greater needs when navigating the shift in regulatory framework. This also provides context for why our Licity was founded. This episode features an earlier recorded interview hosted by Hannah Walker in discussion with Our Licity directors Christopher Cloak Brown and Roger Houston who explained why the business was founded.

Speaker 0:50

Hello, my name is Hannah Walker and I am here with Chris Cloke Browne and Roger Houston from Owlicity, who are highly experienced insurance advisors in the functional medicine and aesthetics sector. So first of all, Chris, tell us about Owlicity, how it started, and your role within the business.

Speaker 3 1:11

So Owlicity really started over a conversation between Roger and I, and very much taking the view that we thought that the healthcare sector was not well served by the insurance sector in many, many ways, and probably too many to go through here. We felt we could actually understand the medical business and present it well to insurers and get them the right insurance at the right price. So I'm there to deal with the underwriters, to understand the business, to talk to the underwriters about the risks or otherwise of the business and to persuade them of the benefits and why they want to insure the business at a at a good price.

Speaker 1:50

So, Chris, what makes Owlicity different?

Speaker 3 1:54

Well, we call ourselves insurance advisors, and that's because we are very much to there to advise our clients about how insurance works for them. And we're not insurance brokers because brokers are there to buy and sell, and we are not there to sell you insurance.

Speaker 2:08

Okay.

Speaker 3 2:09

So we're very much uh supporting our clients and uh we're there to assist our our clients to help make their business thrive.

Speaker 2:17

Yeah.

Speaker 3 2:17

And that's insurance for sure, but it's not just insurance, it's all the services around helping them to deal with complaints and claims and the lumps and bumps, yeah, and all sorts of strange things that happen uh along the way. Yeah. So if you're an ambitious business person and you're trying to drive your business forward, uh the last thing you want is for some strange things to come out of left field and derail that.

Speaker 2:40

Yeah, that's really brilliant. And then Roger, over to you. What is your experience? And tell me about your role within our license and how you got involved.

Speaker 2 2:50

I spend my time dealing with complaints and claims in the main, and I've been around insurance claims a long time. I was the operations director at the NHS Litigation Authority, and before that I was uh I ran Zero Administerable Claims. Um, so local government produces the breadth of claims like no other portfolio, and medical negligence produces the value, if not the emotion. So it's about people, it's about people in difficult circumstances. So we pride ourselves on supporting people. Yeah. So we're very much that you know, these are these are grabnut people that run these businesses. What you need to do is give them a proper appraisal of the risks they face, and then they'll make a decision and and move on.

Speaker 3:32

Yeah, I guess any insurance is only as good as getting a claim paid, isn't it?

Speaker 2 3:37

Yeah, or yeah, paid or or or or a situation properly defended. I mean that's the other thing on the aesthetics business where large number of the clients don't necessarily have a medical background. They're in the court of social media, which is never terribly equitable, so certainly never rational. And how does all this work? You know, if they end up making an apology and an explanation, does that mean the premium triples, which it doesn't? So there are various anxieties that that we're quite adept at dealing with.

Speaker 4:09

Yeah, that's when you both come to the rescue. Yeah. And Chris, what is it that you love about working for our list and in the insurance sector?

Speaker 3 4:19

I think it really is, you know, having it as our own business, it's the opportunity to define how it works, and really, as you say, we really sat down and thought that the medical sector or the healthcare sector was not well served by insurance overall. So we really are trying to bring that business that does serve them well, serve their interests well, make sure that they're feel cared for, supported, and that's really what we're trying to deliver. So, you know, what makes me really happy is the days when we really do help somebody out of from time to time some very strange situations. First of all, as as as we say, anybody who thinks insurance is boring doesn't work at Owlicity. And secondly, it's just a great feeling when you get somebody out of that weird situation or that hole and they can carry on and build their business.

Speaker 5:09

And what is your advice when it comes to marketing for functional medical practitioners and aesthetic practitioners?

Speaker 2 5:18

I think from my perspective, um it's it's about clarity of description. So what can people reasonably expect and what they can't? Yeah.

Speaker 3 5:30

I think it is absolutely that. And is it like all these things, it's definitely try and keep yourself in the premium end of the market. Uh all the problems happen in the lower end of the healthcare sector, as I'm sure you know. So you need to be charging enough to be using the good products and the right products and be communicating the benefits of using those products and the benefits of clearly paying a bit more, but having good results and and and good treatment.

Speaker 5:59

So what makes Owlicity different and why should practitioners choose the both of you?

Speaker 3 6:06

I think we really are about understanding practitioners and and and their business. Um and so we really do enjoy working with the people who who worry about their insurance, to be honest. You know, we have to clients who we talk to and ask us lots of questions who then say, I'm sorry for taking up your time. And essentially, no, you're you'll you're the people we like, because that means you actually care about your insurance and what you're getting and that you're covered and and and what's gonna happen. Um so it it you know all so many insurance brokers talk about personalised service and so on, and and it is, but it really is for us, it's it's that depth of understanding. Um and really for us it's we like to be in the position that when we present a risk to the insurer, we understand more about the risk than the insurer, so we're telling them how it works and so on, and and we have over time developed a reputation with underwriters for that, so we can really get things sorted out and done, and when we tell underwriters no, actually, it's like this, they not every time, but most of the time go with us.

Speaker 7:11

Yeah, thank you both. It's so lovely to hear about Owlicity and your parts to play and all the incredible things that you do as well. So, and you know, I can tell there's a huge amount of trust that you've built up with your clients and a real strong relationship there, and that's so important, isn't it?

Speaker 1 7:33

Thank you for listening to Confidence to Thrive. Before you go, please rate, review, and subscribe to Confidence to Thrive on your preferred podcast platform and help us spread our message to others who are making a difference in private healthcare. This podcast was brought to you by Owlicity, insurance advisors who support your business ambitions. Owlicity advises practitioners, owners, and entrepreneurs of healthcare practices on mitigating risks so your business can thrive. Learn more about how Owlicity can support you by finding the link in the show notes or visiting owlicity.co.uk.