Industry Insider article by Hamilton Fraser
Twenty years ago, in 1996, our now CEO Eddie Hooker had just started his own insurance broker company, when an enquiry came in that would change the business. A nurse who wanted to follow the latest trend on collagen filler products wanted insurance. She couldn’t find anyone who would insure her at a cost that would still make it viable to administer the new treatments.
Defence bodies were nervous about providing such cover, which was needed to plug the gap between the traditional and new professional areas for nurses. Back then, Eddie did find an underwriter and from then on, Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance was a key player in the market, seeing it grow and helping to shape it. One of the many ways we have been influential was in 1999 in paving the way for the growth of the botulinum toxin industry by allowing dental practitioners to get cover.
Eddie Hooker says: “We were the first company to create an indemnity insurance policy for cosmetic practitioners, and we’ve developed the policy further and further since. We now provide the widest policy available in the market and are still evolving it further. It is at the heart of our business to try and be innovative.”
20 years on, and Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance are drawing on a wealth of experience. In 2016, Eddie will be speaking at key industry events, including ACE, FACE and CCR, and highlight some of the claims Hamilton Fraser has received over the decades. But while we are proud of our history, we are firmly rooted in the present and are keeping our finger on the pulse for future developments. We are constantly adding new treatments to our books and provide our clients with expert advice on how to run a successful business.
Educating practitioners in best industry practice standards is important to us. Not only do we have a wide variety of resources available on our website, including how to consent a patient, how to keep good patient notes and much more, but we do have an in-house claims team who can help with any concerns.
We are always innovating, covering new treatments and genuinely enjoy meeting industry professionals at events. Our Cosmetic team will attend a wide variety of events this year in addition to the ones named above, please do come and talk to us when you see us.
So where do we think the market is going? Mike Glanvill, Director of Hamilton Fraser Cosmetic Insurance thinks that regulation and better consumer protection are going to be the biggest challenge for the industry over the coming years.
“Practitioners will be under pressure to stay up-to-date with new legislation and regulations. This will definitely have a financial impact on their business, as all regulations do. Coming from an industry, namely insurance, that has been regulated by the FCA since 2005, we know first-hand what it takes to adapt to new rules. Implementing the new regulations back then changed the way we operate, but now we wouldn’t want to operate any other way. It’s about best practice and putting the consumer first. The cosmetic industry will keep growing, but in my opinion those businesses that adopt regulation quickly and see it as a positive step will be the ones that are most successful. And we will be there to support them.”