Insurance for a new dental practice, in the right order.

Before construction. Your lease almost certainly requires general liability with the landlord named as an additional insured, and your build-out needs builder's risk or installation coverage while the space is unfinished. Ask for the lease's insurance exhibit early — the required limits are usually negotiable, but only before signing.

Before equipment arrives. Chairs, imaging, CAD/CAM mills and sterilization equipment are the largest single number on a startup's balance sheet, and they are frequently uninsured for the days between delivery and opening. Property and equipment breakdown coverage should be in force on the delivery date, not the opening date, and the schedule should reflect replacement cost rather than what you financed.

Before your first hire. Workers' compensation is mandatory in virtually every state the day the first employee starts, and dental payroll classifications are frequently miscoded — which either overcharges you or triggers a nasty audit bill a year later. Disability and, where required, paid-family-leave coverage attach here too.

Before the first patient. Professional liability must be in force. If you are coming out of an associateship, this is the moment to settle prior acts or tail from your previous employer's policy — a gap here follows you for years. New graduates qualify for step-rated pricing that starts near a quarter of the mature rate.

Before you go live with a practice-management system. Cyber liability covers the ransomware event and the notification cost that follows a breach of patient records, and it is the coverage new owners most often skip. Employment practices liability follows as soon as you have a team, because wage-and-hour and harassment allegations are not covered by a business owner's policy.

Buying rather than building adds two items: a review of the seller's loss history before you assume the patient base, and clarity on who insures treatment rendered before closing. We handle both in the same submission.