PhysioSure.com, malpractice and professional indemnity insurance for all Australian physiotherapists

Malpractice Insurance for all members of the Australian Physiotherapy Community

PhysioSure.com

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PhysioSure

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Unlimited run-off cover
Work overseas up to 3 months
Includes cover for Locums

Please review the summary of cover and policy wording…

Summary of Cover / Important Notice

TYPE OF INSURANCE

Combined Malpractice (Professional Indemnity), Public & Products Liability Insurance for Physiotherapists domiciled in Australia whose principal activities are based in Australia.
The Policy Wording is a Civil Liability “claims made” contract, including a broad definition of “professional services”.

Features included are:

‘Civil Laibility’ professional Indemnity, Automatic Reinstatement of the limit of Indemnity, Libel 7 Slander, Dishonesty, Loss of Documents,Predecessors in Practice, Incoming Principals,Trade Practices Act (misleading &/or deceptive conduct), Good Samaritan Acts (Emergency First Aid), Legal Representation Costs at Coronial Inquiries, Separate Limit of Indemnity for Multi-Practitioner practices, Teachers Liability, Run Off Cover, Public Liability, Products Liability & Cover for Short-Term Assignments Overseas

LIMIT OF INDEMNITY

To provide Physiobase.com members with a THREE alternative levels of protection, and to maximise the benefits of ‘bulk buying’, 3 options are available;

$5,000,000    $7,500,000  &   $10,000,000 

(All Claims are subject to a $500 Excess).

All Options include an Automatic Reinstatement in the event of a Claim.

Professional Services Covered: The Policy contains the following definition of “The Insured’s Profession”

The profession of physiotherapy as determined by the ethical guidelines for members of the Australian Physiotherapy Association including the provision of physiotherapy treatment or advice:

(a) which The Insured is qualified to give (or any other treatment modality which is incidental to The Insured’s profession as a physiotherapist) whether for reward or not, including any treatment or advice given voluntarily to a person in an emergency situation;

(b) in any tertiary education or formal post-graduate, continuing education, teaching or demonstration of physiotherapeutic technique whether or not for therapeutic purposes and whether for reward or not.

While this definition makes reference to the ethical guidelines for members of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, it is NOT necessary for you to be a member of that Association in order to access this insurance. You MUST, however, be registered to practice physiotherapy in Australia.


Privacy Statement

I/We authorize CGU Professional Risks Insurance, a division of CGU Insurance Limited, to collect or disclose any personal information relating to this insurance to/from any other insurers or insurance reference service.

Where I/We have provided information about other individual (for example, an employee, or client), I/We declare that the individual has been or will be made aware of that fact and the section in the policy on "the way we handle your personal information".

I/We also confirm that I/We am/are authorised to act for and on behalf of all persons who may be entitled to indemnity under any policy which may be insured pursuant to this Proposal form and I/We complete this online Proposal form on their behalf.

Important Notice

"Claims Made" Insurance

The proposed insurance is issued on a 'claims made' basis.

This means that the policy responds to:-

1. claims first made against you during the policy period and notified to CGU Professional Risks Insurance during that policy period, provided that you were not aware at any time prior to the policy inception of circumstances which would have put a reasonable person in your position on notice that a claim may be made against you: and

2. 'claims circumstances' notified pursuant to Section 40 sub-section 3 of the Insurance Contracts Act which states:
“where the insured gave notice in writing to the insurer of facts that might give rise to a claim against the insured as soon as was reasonably practicable after the insured became aware o those facts but before the insurance cover provided by the contract expired, the insurer is not relieved of liability under the contract in respect of the claim, when made, by reason only that it was made after the expiration of the period of insurance cover provided by the contract.

After the policy expires, no new notification can be made on the expired policy even though the event giving rise to the claim against you may have occurred during the policy period.

If during the policy period you become aware of circumstances which a reasonable person in your position would consider may give rise to a claim, and which you fail to notify to us during the policy period, we may not cover you under a subsequent policy for any claim which arises from these circumstances.

When completing the proposal form you are obliged to report and provide full details of all circumstances which you are aware of and which a reasonable person in your position would consider may give rise to a claim.
It is important that you make proper disclosure (see Duty of Disclosure, below) so that your cover under any new policy with us is not compromised.

Duty of Disclosure

Before entering into a contract of general insurance with an insurer, you have a duty under the Insurance Contracts Act, to disclose to us every matter that you are aware of, or could reasonably be expected to be aware of, that is relevant to our decision about insuring you and if so, on what terms. You have the same duty to disclose these matters to us before you renew, extend, vary or reinstate a contract of general insurance.

Your duty however does not require you to disclose matter 

- that diminishes the risk to be undertaken by us;
- that is of common knowledge;
- that we know or, in the ordinary course of our business, ought to know;
- as to which compliance with your duty is waived by us.

You should note that your duty continues after the proposal form has been completed until the policy is entered into, ie until the date we receive your instruction to bind cover.

Non-disclosure

If you fail to comply with your duty of disclosure, we may be entitled to reduce our liability under the policy in respect of a claim or may cancel the policy. If your non-disclosure is fraudulent, we may also have the option of avoiding the contract from the beginning. It is therefore vital that you enquire of all entities comprising the insured, including senior staff, before completing the proposal form and before you sign any declaration confirming no change in the information disclosed.

Average Provision One of the insuring provisions of the proposed insurance may provide that where the amount required to dispose of a claim exceeds the limit of the sum insured in the policy then we shall be liable only for a proportion of the total costs and expenses. This shall be the same proportion of the total expenses as the policy limit bears to the total amount required to dispose of the claim. 

Surrender of Waiver of any Right of Contribution or Indemnity

If another person or company is liable to compensate you or hold you harmless for part or all of any loss or damage otherwise covered by our policy, but you agree with that person or company either before or after the inception of the policy that you would not seek to recover any loss or damage from that person or company, you are not covered under the policy for any such loss or damage.

Year 2000 Compliance. The proposed quotation to be issued to you or your firm based on your completed proposal may include specific reference to the issue of Year 2000. The issue of Year 2000 and the considered likely effects on the many and various forms of computer based control systems are being constantly discussed in the print and electronic media.


SA Wrongs Act 

Certain provisions of the SA Wrongs Act allow an employer to access an employee’s personal insurance. Similar legislation operates in other States and Territories of Australia. It is not our intention to provide cover to an employer where that employer is not our Insured. Consequently, one of the insuring provisions of the proposed insurance provides that where you, the Insured are an employee, you or your employer may not be entitled to seek indemnity under this proposed insurance unless all of the following provisions have been satisfied:

(i.) a judgement has been obtained by the plaintiff in respect of the Claim and The Insured is liable for some or all of the judgement debt;
(ii.) the employer of The Insured (‘the employer’) has been called upon by The Insured to indemnify him and ‘the employer’ has failed to do so in full or part;
(iii.) ‘the employer’ is not entitled to indemnity in respect of the judgement debt or part thereof or he is so entitled and the person liable to indemnify him is incapable of doing so; and
(iv.) ‘the employer’ has been declared bankrupt or put into liquidation.

Policy Wording

(This will be emailed to you with your policy)

Physiobase Combined Civil Malpractice, public and products liability insurance policy

Combined civil malpractice

Insurer: CGU Professional Risks Insurance, A Division of CGU Insurance Limited
ABN 27 004 478 371 An IAG Company

Table of contents - the section below outlines the table of contents for the current Physiosure policy. You can view the list of contents below. Please download the full policy wording pdf to read explainations of each section as desired. This pdf can be found on the homepage.

Page

Section 1 Insuring clause

1.1 Recital 1
1.2 Operative Clause 1
1.3 Costs and Expenses 1

Section 2 Automatic extensions

2.1 Professional Duty 1
2.2 Libel and Slander 1
2.3 Dishonesty 1
2.4 Loss of Documents 1
2.5 Trade Practices Act and Related Legislation 1
2.6 Emergency First Aid (Good Samaritan Acts) 1
2.7 Teachers’ Liability 2
2.8 Principal’s Incoming 2
2.9 Prior Corporate Entities 2
2.10 Public Liability 2
2.11 Products Liability 2
2.12 Specific Exclusion Applicable to Automatic Extensions to Sections 2.10 Public Liability and 2.11 Products Liability 3
2.13 Specific Conditions Applicable to Automatic Extensions to Sections 2.10 Public Liability and 2.11 Products Liability 3

Section 3

3.1 Legal Representation Costs – Coronial Enquiry 4
3.2 Quasi Judicial Representation Costs 4
3.3 Limit of Cover under this Section  4

Section 4

4.1 Continuous Cover 4
4.2 Run Off Cover 4

Section 5 Conditions

5.1 Claims Handling, Defence and Settlement Clause 5
5.2 Limit of Liability 5
5.3 Automatic Reinstatement 6
5.4 Excess 6
5.5 De-registration 6
5.6 Singular & Plural 6
5.7 Law of the Policy 6
5.8 Schedule must be included 6
5.9 GST Basis of Settlement 6

Section 6 Exclusions applicable to all Automatic Extensions other than 2.10 Public Liability and 2.11 Product Liability

6.1 Refund of Professional Fees and Trading Debts 7
6.2 Employers’ Liability, Directors’ & Officers’ Liability, Occupiers’ Liability, Motor, Marine, etc. 7

Section 7 Exclusions applicable to entire policy

7.1 Known Claims and Known Circumstances 7
7.2 Foreign Courts 7
7.3 Assumed duty or obligation 7
7.4 Related parties 8
7.5 Punitive & Exemplary Damages 8
7.6 Intentional Damage 8
7.7 Asbestos 8
7.8 Terrorism 8
7.9 Radioactivity 8
7.10 War & Uprisings 8
7.11 Sexual misconduct 8
7.12 Territorial Limits 8
7.13 Medical Instruments 8
7.14 Medical Practitioners 8
7.15 SA Wrongs Act 9

Section 8 Definitions applicable to entire policy

8.1 Bodily Injury 9
8.2 Civil Liability 9
8.3 Claim 9
8.4 Known Circumstance 9
8.5 Medical Practitioner 9
8.6 Period of Insurance 9
8.7 Policy 9
8.8 Product 10
8.9 Property Damage 10
8.10 Proposal 10
8.11 Terrorism 10
8.12 The Insured 10
8.13 The Insured’s Profession 10
8.14 The Insurer 10

Section 9 The way we handle your personal information 11

Declaration

I have read the important notice, summary of cover and policy wording.
I understand the content of the above and wish to proceed with this Insurance application

I Do Not Accept I Accept

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