Allied health is a broad term that covers a wide variety of health professionals, from psychologists to physiotherapists, podiatrists, dieticians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists and more. What these professions have in common is that they operate in the field of health but aren’t doctors, dentists or nurses.
Another key thing that each of these professions shares is their need for adequate business insurance, whether as a sole practitioner or as a small, medium or even large business owner. Knowing what your allied health insurance needs are is an essential part of running your business.
What business insurance do I need as an allied health professional?
There’s a range of different types of insurance that are either necessary or advised in the course of running your allied health business. The main policy that most businesses in the field will be required to have is professional indemnity (PI) insurance. This offers cover for claims of professional negligence, such as misleading advice or lack of due care, and costs related to defending claims in court and paying compensation to claimants.
PI cover requirements are usually set by their respective industry board. Here are the PI insurance requirements for some of the biggest allied health professions:
| Industry body | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Physiotherapy Board of Australia | No required minimum level of PI cover set by the Board, but adequate PI insurance must be proven and committed to as a condition of annual registration. Run-off cover is also required. |
| Psychology Board of Australia | No required minimum level of PI cover set by the Board, but adequate PI insurance must be proven and committed to as a condition of annual registration. Run-off cover is also required. |
| Podiatry Board of Australia | PI insurance is required with a minimum of $5 million in cover, which must be declared as a condition of registration renewal. Run-off cover is also required. |
| Pharmacy Board of Australia | PI insurance is required with a minimum of $20 million in cover, which must be declared as a condition of registration renewal. Run-off cover is also required. |
| Occupational Therapy Board of Australia | No required minimum level of PI cover set by the Board, but adequate PI insurance must be proven and committed to as a condition of annual registration. Run-off cover is also required. |
| Chiropractic Board of Australia | No required minimum level of PI cover set by the Board, but adequate PI insurance must be proven and committed to as a condition of annual registration. Run-off cover is also required. |
For professionals not listed in the above table, it’s important to check with your industry body to see what the specific PI insurance requirements are for you.
What other business insurance policies should I consider as an allied health professional?
There are other policies that are probably worth looking into beyond PI insurance, too. Here are just a few of the ones you should consider before you start practising:
| Type of insurance | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Public liability insurance | Claims of injury to a third party or damage to their property due to your business’ negligent activity, such as slipping on a wet floor or smashing a laptop after falling off a wonky table. |
| Cyber liability insurance | Claims of a breach of privacy due to a cyber-attack and expenses incurred as a result of sustaining an attack, including business interruption. |
| Business contents insurance | Damage to your business’ contents, such as equipment, furniture, artwork and inventory. |
| Portable equipment/contents insurance | Damage to your business’ equipment and assets that leave your business location and travel with you, such as exercise equipment, electronics and more. |
| Commercial building insurance | Damage to your business’ physical premises and fixtures or fittings due to an insured event, such as fire, theft, extreme weather and impact damage. |
Alternatively, allied health businesses are often able to purchase insurance packages that bundle multiple policies together, often at a discounted premium rate. This will usually include several of the policies already listed and others, such as business interruption insurance, management liability insurance and personal accident insurance.
How much will my allied health insurance cost?
The cost of your policy depends on a range of factors, so the cost for one professional will be different to that of another. However, the average monthly costs of different insurance policies for allied health professionals are as follows, according to BizCover:
- Professional indemnity insurance: $21 per month
- Public liability insurance: $11 per month
- Contents insurance: $44 per month
- Cyber liability insurance: $130 per month
- Personal accident insurance: $91 per month
- Management liability insurance: $81 per month
Average prices applicable to physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry, occupational therapy and speech pathology.
While stacking all of these up will make it look like a very expensive venture indeed, purchasing a small business insurance package through a provider or broker service will give you multiple policies at a discounted rate.
Some of the other factors that’ll help determine the cost of your allied health insurance policy include:
- Your industry: an exercise physiologist faces different risks compared to a pharmacist, so the cost of your policies will be different.
- The size of your business: a sole trader will pay less for insurance than an equivalent medium to large business, as the number of clients seen and money turned over will be lower.
- Your location: different parts of Australia come with different risks based on their environment and risks specific to their location. For example, practices in areas at high risk of burglary or theft will likely pay more for contents cover.
- Your claims history: businesses with a history of insurance claims will typically be charged more than an equivalent business with no record of claimable incidents.
