DOCTORS' BILLS AND INSURANCE
SiNcF. our last quarterly Insurance Supplement we have had brought to our notice a new form of Policy issued by Lloyd's Underwriters, and entitled " The Doctors' Bills Policy." The idea of this Policy apparently emanated from a remark originally made by Lord- Dawson of Penn in a speech delivered before the London Insurance Institute, in which he said : " The cost of preserving good health was becoming increasingly burdensome to the Middle Classes. The more medical knowledge improved, the larger the expense that fell upon the head of the family. He had known of families crippled for ten years by the heavy cost of modern methods of treating disease.". The object of the Policy is stated to be provision against a heavy doctor's bill in any one year, and consequently provides for payment in excess of certain sums Which the Insured will themselves carry. The excess amounts insured and the premiums payable vary with the medical fee per visit, and under Table A 7 the insurance is limited to General Practitioners' Fees: Under Table " B," however, a combined Policy is issued covering Consulting Surgeon and Consulting Physician Fees. Nursing and Nursing Home Charges incidental t9 any operation are also covered by the Policy and addi- tional charges for night visits, mileage, detention, special visits, drugs and surgical appliances. This being a new scheme, the underwriters have evidently felt it necessary to make certain restrictions and exclusions, some of which are clearly essential and others, perhaps, might be modified. We can quite sec, however, necessity for extreme caution in endeavouring to formu- late a scheme of this kind. No- doubt if the premiums charged are more than adequate, underwriters will be able to modify some of the present restrictions. • In any event, there is unquestionably a need for some insurance provisions of the kind in favour of middle class families, and we therefore congratulate the pioneers in their efforts to provide a scheme, and wish them every success.
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