FAQ

Contents

1. Why Medical Malpractice Insurance?
2. Why Have we combined Medical Malpractice Insurance with Public and Products Liability Insurance?
3. I think I need to claim – what should I do?
4. How much do I have to pay for each claim?
5. What does the Medical Malpractice policy cover?
6. What does the Medical Malpractice policy not cover?
7. What is the Limit of Liability under this policy?
8. Will this policy cover all my work?
9. Does the policy cover claims brought against me for professional services undertaken before I signed-up for the policy?
10. How long is the policy for?
11. Where can I find the policy documentation?
12. What am I covered for – where is my insurance schedule?
13. How can I show others that I am insured?

1. Why Medical Malpractice Insurance?

Registered providers under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) are helping those who have been assessed by professional practitioners to obtain services under the scheme. Now if some sort of injury claim is made it is possible that the matter may include some type of medical malpractice lawsuit that the standard Professional Indemnity (PI) cover may exclude.

2. Why Have we combined Medical Malpractice Insurance with Public and Products Liability Insurance?

A common exclusion under a Public Liability policy is where the accident was as a result of the professional services being delivered so a Medical Malpractice policy that combines Public liability and Products liability is the perfect fit to covering the risk, a bit like joining up the pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.

3. I think I need to claim – what should I do?

First, don’t admit liability to the person who wants to act against you.

Call us on 1300 799 950 and we’ll guide you through the process, which will go something like this:

• We will try to work out whether it is a ‘commercial error’ which you would remedy with a simple refund, or a claim where harm, loss or damage has occurred, and legal action is likely
• We will ask you what you know about the problem, what you have done and what you intend to do about it
• There will probably be some paperwork to fill out
• We will liaise with the underwriters and claims handlers and guide you from there

4. How much do I have to pay for each claim?

Each time a claim is made against you you will usually have to pay our standard excess of $500 for breakage under the Public Liability policy and $500 for Products liability.

If the matter in question relates to a claim for Medical Malpractice the excess is NIL.

Any further expense incurred in the investigation, defence or settlement of the claim is usually paid by the insurer as they assess the claim.

The claim will be investigated by the insurer before they accept or reject the claim.

There are no claims forms per say as you don’t make a claim against the policy. Claims made are the result of an action or notice brought to your attention about something that has gone wrong causing (in most cases) the client that you have been attending to to be moved to take action, sometimes by contacting a solicitor.

If you are aware of something that ha gone wrong during the period of insurance it must be reported to us during the currency of the policy or the insurer can deny liability.

Any money you pay to your client prior to being served a legal notice from them – including making good or issuing a refund – is a commercial decision and will not be regarded as payment, or part-payment, of your excess or contribution towards the claim. Your actions in some cases can be regarded by the insurer as contributing to or exacerbating the claim. That is why you should contact us before you admit any liability to your client.

5. What does the Medical Malpractice policy cover?

The Medical Malpractice policy covers you for all the inherent risks associated with delivering your professional services as you described them to us when you applied online for your insurance, and that were accepted by the insurer.

You may not be covered for new types of business that you undertake without asking us to include them within your cover. So, for the sake of argument, you need to tell us if you are thinking about doing something different so that we can seek to adjust your policy to cover new services that you have been registered or approved to provide.

You can find out more by reading the NDIS Providers Medical Malpractice Civil Liability Policy Wording and Policy Schedule.

You can login to your account to view your Certificate of Currency.

6. What does the Medical Malpractice policy not cover?

In short, the Medical Malpractice policy does not cover anything you do to intentionally cause loss or damage or harm.

You can find out more by reading the NDIS Providers Medical Malpractice Civil Liability Policy Wording and Policy Schedule.

You can login to your account to view your Certificate of Currency.

7. What is the Limit of Liability under this policy?

You can choose Medical Malpractice cover for limits of $1 million, $2 million, $5 million or $10 million worth of aggregated claims per year. One Reinstatement is provided.

You can choose Public and Products Liability cover to the value of $10 million or $20 million per claim where aggregate limits apply.

Your policies are yours alone – they are not shared limit policies – and the limits are guaranteed for the period of cover.

If you buy a lower limit now and need an increased limit later we can usually accommodate it by going back on line to increase the limit of liability required or give us a call on 1300 799 950 for discussion and direction and options.

8. Will this policy cover all my work?

This policy will cover you as a Registered Provider under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) for those professions that you have selected for the services that you are providing and no other.

You can login to your account to see your insurance certificate. If you’re still not sure, please contact us.

9. Does the policy cover claims brought against me for professional services undertaken before I signed-up for the policy?

Yes. The policy is written on a ‘claims made’ basis and would respond to historical events provided that they were not known to you at the time that you applied for cover.

You must notify us of the claim during the currency of your cover for the insurer to accept the claim – so you should maintain your cover even if you stop doing the work that it covers. We suggest you keep it for about six years.

And the premiums are quite reasonable. Ask us about “runoff” cover if the time comes.

10. How long is the policy for?

All our covers run for a minimum period of 12 months and there are no premium refunds if you cancel early. It is essential to let the policy run till its expiry and even consider renewing if you are thinking about retiring from the profession.

If you stop doing the business that we are covering, we recommend that you maintain your cover for six years, so it can respond to any claims that emerge during that time.

And the premiums are quite reasonable. Ask us about “runoff” cover if the time comes.

11. Where can I find the policy documentation?

You can find links to the policy documentation (which includes your insurance schedule) on our Insurance page.

12. What am I covered for – where is my insurance schedule?

You can login to your account to view and download a copy of your insurance Certificate of Currency and read this in accordance with your insurance schedule. The Certificate of Currency holds the key features that link to your insurance schedule.

In this way, anyone who wants to view you policy documentation or your insurance schedule can do so simply by following the link on our Insurance page.

13. How can I show others that I am insured?

There are three documents that you can use to show a customer that you are insured, or include in a tender or proposal:

• Certificate of currency (COC) which reflects the cover you hold in an abbreviated form
• Insurance schedule which states the exact nature of cover that the insurer or broker has arranged, using the insurer’s preferred wording
• Insurance policy documentation which provides comprehensive description of your insurance.