Speaker You’re listening to Allied Health podcast, talking all things Allied Health with your hosts, Danielle Weedon, physiotherapist, and Clare Jones, occupational therapist.

Danielle Weedon Hello, it’s Danielle here today. In this episode, I briefly cover professional indemnity insurance. Therapists often ask us about PI insurance, what it is and whether they need it. Firstly, it’s important to highlight that I’m not an insurance or legal professional. So before you start in clinical practice, seek legal and insurance advice from a broker or insurer for detailed information specific to you and your employment situation. So to begin with, what is professional indemnity insurance and do you really need it? PI insurance and cover is necessary for anyone who provides professional advice or services to a business or individual. PI insurance prevents you from financial loss for legal action taken against you in regards to the services and advice you give. As a health professional, there’s a chance that you might make a mistake, and even if you’re not at fault, just an allegation could cost you or your employer significantly and financially. What situations could cause a claim to be made? So claims can arise from an act and omission, or a breach of duty that happens as a result of you providing your services. They can also arise from providing misleading advice, loss of documentation, errors or omissions, or inadvertently defaming someone. Claims can also arise from inappropriate behaviour or an injury sustained to a client as a result of your professional advice. Or they can arise from failing to meet a deadline or not meeting your client’s expectations. So you might ask yourself, could this happen to you or your employer? No matter how good you are at your job, even with the best of intentions, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. Even if you believe you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s still important to address the complaint. So professional indemnity insurance allows you to cover yourself if and when you do slip up in your normal course of work. You also might want to know what does professional indemnity insurance cover? So PI covers your claims investigation costs, your legal and defence costs, damages awarded to your client, and it protects you and your professional reputation. So most professional indemnity policies are on a claims based basis and only cover you for the period you’re insured. So if you don’t advise your broker at the time that you become aware of a reported issue and your policy has expired, you may not be insured in relation to this. So keep a really good record of your coverage at all times. Another question we get asked is, “What if my employer already has professional indemnity insurance?” Even if your employer has PI insurance for their business and employees, you may also need to have your own cover. Double check what your employer’s policy covers and ask an independent party or a broker to review. Of course, if you’re working as a contractor, you’ll definitely be required to have your own PI insurance cover and in these instances, your policy follows you wherever you go. Make sure also that the professional services you provide for within the service that you’re qualified and insured to provide. So make sure you’re covered for all the locations you’re working in, and that the spelling, for example, of your name and the company, or company is listed, is all correct. Like most insurances, it’s also important to review this every 12 months, especially if you’re looking at making a change of employer or restructuring a business. Finally, another question we get asked is What does it cost? So you’ll need to contact a broker for a quote on what professional indemnity insurance would cost for yourself individually. You can also check with your professional body and see whether you’re affiliated with any insurer at a discount. Also, don’t forget any insurance related to your employment will be a tax deduction, so this can be discussed with your accountant. This episode was brief, but we hope you found it useful. Thanks again for joining us. Please tune in for our next episode of Allied Health Podcast, and we hope you have a good listen.

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