Whether you’re a therapist, hygienist or pathologist, having good liability insurance is a must for all allied health professionals. These are the types of insurance you should be looking at to make sure you’re covered for all eventualities and liabilities:
Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance covers you against claims that the treatment or service you provided was negligent or fell short of expected professional standards. It is also called malpractice insurance for this reason. It’s compulsory for registration as an allied health professional, and for membership of most professional associations.
Practitioners who are union members may have this malpractice liability cover provided through their union fees, but if you’re a business owner or aren’t a union member, you’ll need to arrange this insurance yourself. Cover is available starting from $250,000, but can extend up to $10 million or more.
What it covers
- Payment of compensation if there’s a successful claim against you
- Cover for your legal defence costs
- Payment of court-awarded damages to the litigant
- Cover for the cost of disciplinary proceedings or investigations
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is also essential for anyone working with members of the public as patients and clients. It will cover you against claims that your activity caused injury to a member of the public or damaged their property. This insurance can offer between $5 million and $20 million worth of coverage.
What it covers:
- Third-party personal injury claims
- Damage to a third party’s property
- Legal fees to defend yourself
Cyber liability insurance
Cyber liability insurance is another form of insurance which allied health professionals (including private physiotherapists) will need if they keep clients’ financial or medical records on your business computer. It will protect your data from cybercrime in an age when there are many bad actors actively trying to get hold of sensitive information.
What it covers
- Data breaches including theft of client information
- The cost of forensic investigation into the cause of the breach
- Data recovery costs
- Cyber extortion and denial of service threats
- Crisis management costs
- Advertising and communicating with customers
- Legal costs including any fines and penalties imposed
General business insurance
General business insurance may also be worthwhile if you have portable equipment, including therapy equipment and laptops, as part of your business. Commercial vehicles aren’t included in general business insurance, so you may need separate commercial vehicle insurance if you make house calls and have a work vehicle.
What it covers:
- Fire, storms, theft, vandalism and collision which cause damage to your business assets
- Specialist cover for electronic equipment and other portable equipment
- Limited business interruption insurance