A locum works in other people's practices, under their systems, and is usually self employed. The insurance question is simple to state and easy to get wrong: whose cover answers for what the locum did, in which setting, and for how long afterwards.
The engager's indemnity is not a guarantee
Some engagers extend their own arrangements to locums and some do not, and the extent varies by role, by session and by whether the locum is treated as staff. Regulators place the duty to hold an indemnity arrangement on the registrant, not the engager, so a locum relying on an unexamined assumption is relying on somebody else's paperwork. Asking each engager in writing what their cover includes, and keeping the answers, is the only reliable approach.
Several settings, one registrant
A locum may work across practices, clinics, pharmacies, care homes or hospitals in a month, in employed, agency and direct engagements. A personal policy that follows the registrant across all of it removes the gap between arrangements rather than trying to map them. Insurers writing locum cover ask about the scope of practice, the settings worked and the mix of engagements, and the premium reflects what is actually done rather than a job title.
Claims arrive later than the shift
Clinical and professional claims surface years after the treatment or the advice, by which time the locum may have moved on several times. Whether an arrangement was on an occurrence basis, answering for the period in which the work was done, or a claims made basis, answering when the claim arrives, decides everything about that. Claims made cover needs run off after stopping, and the cost of buying it at the end is higher than the annual premium was.
What else a self employed locum carries
Beyond the professional indemnity, a locum is a business: public liability is often required by engagers, equipment taken between sites needs cover that travels, and no employer's sick pay exists behind a self employed shift, which makes personal accident or income protection a separate and personal purchase. Agencies commonly require a stated limit and a certificate before allocating work, which is often what sets the level bought.
Questions people ask about locum insurance
Does the practice I locum at cover me?
Sometimes, to a varying extent. The regulatory duty to hold an indemnity arrangement sits on the registrant, so ask each engager in writing what their cover includes.
Why does the claims basis matter?
Occurrence cover answers for work done while it was in force; claims made cover answers when the claim arrives and needs run off after you stop.
Do agencies require their own limit?
Frequently, with a certificate before work is allocated, and that requirement is often what sets the limit a locum buys.