Insurance Insurance for Psychologists

Why do Psychologists need insurance?

There are so many elements that go into running your own psychology practice to ensure your clients experience the expert care they deserve. They seek out your professional advice and expertise, something which unfortunately does come with a degree of risk.

These are a snapshot of some of the types of situations where business insurance can help provide protection:

• A client may make a claim against you for negligence
• Professional Indemnity insurance may be a requirement to become a member of certain industry bodies and boards.
• Consider protecting things like your business assets with contents, building and portable equipment insurance*
• Holding valuable information like your customer files and data online creates a risk of a data breach if a cyber attack were to occur- that’s where Cyber Liability insurance* can help.

Insurance for Psychologist

Professional Indemnity Insurance*

Building your reputation as a trusted psychologists doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of hard-work, study and experience. You put your heart and soul into being there and assisting your clients, and yet it can take one unhappy client to send your business crashing down.

Even if you are not the one at fault, Professional Indemnity insurance* is there to give you peace of mind when you need it most.

Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance offers protection for businesses that provide specialist services or professional advice. It is designed to respond to claims against your business for losses as a result of actual or alleged negligent acts or omissions in the provision of your professional service or advice.

PI Insurance will also assist with the legal costs associated with responding to or managing claims which are covered by the policy.

Insurance for Psychologist

Professional Indemnity Insurance*

Building your reputation as a trusted psychologists doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years of hard-work, study and experience. You put your heart and soul into being there and assisting your clients, and yet it can take one unhappy client to send your business crashing down.

Even if you are not the one at fault, Professional Indemnity insurance* is there to give you peace of mind when you need it most.

Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance offers protection for businesses that provide specialist services or professional advice. It is designed to respond to claims against your business for losses as a result of actual or alleged negligent acts or omissions in the provision of your professional service or advice.

PI Insurance will also assist with the legal costs associated with responding to or managing claims which are covered by the policy.

What’s typically included?*

Depending on the Professional Indemnity policy selected, your policy could cover:

• Payment of compensation as a result of a claim, including but not limited to Court awarded damages
• An award of legal costs against you
• Reasonable legal costs incurred in defending or responding to the claim
• Claim investigation costs
• Disciplinary proceeding costs

What is typically not covered?

• Intentional damage
• Contractual liabilities
• Professional fees
• Known claims and circumstances
• Fraud and dishonesty

Public Liability Insurance*

You work closely with your clients, and that’s why Public Liability insurance is an important type of business insurance to think about. Whether you work from a home-based office or you’re out and about visiting your clients, Public Liability insurance is there to provide protection from those unexpected challenges!

Public Liability insurance is designed to provide protection for you and your business in the event a customer, supplier or a member of the public brings a claim against you due to their being injured or sustaining property damage as a result of your negligent business activities.

What is typically included?

Compensation for:

• personal injury suffered by a third party (e.g. a customer, supplier or member of the public)
• damage to property owned by a third party due to your negligent business activities
• legal and defence costs associated with a covered claim

What is typically not covered?

• Injuries to your employees
• Damage to your own property
• Costs of rectifying faulty workmanship
• Professional negligence
• Contractual liability
• Events occurring before or after the policy period

Business Insurance*

Your business assets are vital to the every day functioning of your business, so it makes sense to have some form of protection for them in place.

Business Insurance is an insurance package designed to provide cover for your business contents, stock, tools and commercial premises when an insured event occurs (such as fire, storm, theft or even accidental damage). A Business Insurance package can also cover your portable equipment, glass and for loss of revenue due to business interruption in specified circumstances.  In addition, cover is available for public liability, tax audit, employment practices and statutory liability risks.

Here are a few to consider when looking to protect your business:

Contents*: Cover for loss of or damage to items such as business equipment, stock, plant and machinery, records and furniture belonging to you at the insured location.

Building*: If you own the building from where you operate your business this Covers you for damage to your building due to fire and other perils listed within the policy wording.

Portable Equipment*: Portable Equipment insurance (also known as General Property insurance) covers you for loss and damage to items of portable equipment associated with your business. These can include tools of trade and items of stock.

Tax Audit*: If your accounts are audited by the Australian Tax Office, you may need to hire external accountants to assist in the process. Tax Audit Insurance covers a business for specified costs in responding to an official tax audit.

Cyber Liability*

Chances are you have a lot of confidential client files and valuable business information which is stored online. With cyber criminals increasingly becoming more sophisticated in their types of attacks, it is important to have the right measures in place like Cyber Liability insurance to protect your business in the digital world.

Cyber Liability insurance helps to protect you from claims and supports your profitability in the event of a cyber breach or attack.

Claims Scenarios

You may take all the care and responsibility in the world to ensure you are looking out for the best interest of your clients, but the reality is things do not always go exactly to plan. Let’s take a look at some of the following situations where a claim may arise:

• Negligence in rendering professional services, such as:
  • misdiagnosis of mental conditions or disorders
  • providing incorrect psychological programs
  • inadequately supervising patients
• Allegations of professional misconduct
• Breaches of confidentiality
• Mistakes and oversights
• Privacy breach (from a cyber-attack)
• Third-party suffering an injury or damage to their property
• Loss of business assets through an insurable event like fire or theft

^ The provision of the claims examples are for illustrative purposes only and should not be seen as an indication as to how any potential claim will be assessed or accepted. Cover for a claim will depend on the specific circumstances around the loss and would be subject to the terms and conditions of the policy concerned. Coverage for claims on the policy will be determined by the insurer, not BizCover, and will depend on the specific facts and circumstances involved.

*This information is a general guide only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. The information contained on this web page is general only and should not be relied upon as advice.