Medical Indemnity Insurance for Private Consultants, Surgeons and Doctors

Medical indemnity is a type of insurance protection designed for those working in medicine and healthcare. If a patient is harmed (either mentally or physically) by an error made during the delivery of their care, then medical indemnity covers the legal defence costs of the clinician – including where allegations are unjustified – and the damages made to compensate the patient if a claim of clinical negligence be made.

Any individual or organisation involved in providing medical care where there is the potential for patients to be harmed should be protected. The NHS provides medical indemnity cover for all its staff for the work they do within the NHS. But individuals and organisations offering private health care services must buy medical indemnity insurance themselves. This is particularly important for doctors as the General Medical Council requires them to have appropriate medical indemnity (that can take the form of insurance or discretionary cover provided by MDO) insurance in place as a condition of their registration.

This product is designed for doctors, consultants and surgeons:

• who do some or all their work in private practice and require negligence claims as well as regulatory indemnity
• just starting to practise privately and those with established private practices
• who are employed by private healthcare organisations and those who work either as a sole trader or through a limited company
• whose work is conducted in the UK.

No. If you only work for the NHS then you will benefit from the NHS Trust’s indemnity should an NHS patient make a claim against you. This means you do not need to hold your own medical malpractice/ claims indemnity policy.

Yes, the policy is designed to protect you and your work irrespective of whether or not you own your own company. For example:

• Limited companies – many doctors operate through a limited company for tax purposes. The policy will support you with claims, regardless of whether these are directed at you individually or at your company for your work.
• Sole traders – where doctors undertake private practice without setting up a legal entity (such as a limited company) or being employed by a private healthcare organisation, you will be covered by this policy.
• Employed doctors – you should speak to your employer to establish whether or not they provide you with indemnity cover for the work you undertake on their behalf. If they do not, then this policy would be appropriate for you.

To start with, you know exactly what you get with our insurance as it provides contractual certainty (it’s not discretionary) and it may be more cost-effective. However, this depends on your circumstances.

Your premium is priced to reflect:

• Your specialty
• Volume and type of services and/or procedures you provide
• Your clinical experience
• Your claims history

We believe that clients demonstrating a high level of focus on patient safety should be rewarded and that’s why our premium calculations include a no claims recognition at renewal.

It’s easy to find out how much you could save by getting a quote. You can do this by completing our quote form or by calling our specialist Medical Indemnity team on 0330 912 0684 or request a call back for a time which suits you.

Switching is straightforward.

Simply complete the online quote form and the you will receive a quote, policy documents and information on how to pay. If you’d like guidance through the process or around the policy, you can talk to a member of our specialist Medical Indemnity team. They will be happy to answer any questions and can activate the policy when you’re ready.

We know medical claims don’t always happen within your current policy year – they may only be formally filed many years after the incident and after you switched cover to a different insurer.

Retroactive cover means that any new, potential claims arising from your previous policy will be covered under the new policy – essentially protection is applied backwards.

Moving from one insurer to another?

Agreeing a retroactive date is critical (when moving from a claims-made insurance policy to another claims-made insurance policy) to protect yourself against future claims that may arise from incidents that happened during the previous policy period that you were not aware of (and so have not notified to the insurer). Agreeing a date is straightforward and common practice when switching.

To avoid any gaps in cover you can apply a retroactive start date to your new policy, enabling us to pick up any claims you have not notified (because you were not aware of them) under your previous insurance policy from this date.

Moving from a defence organisation (MDO) to an insurer?

If you are moving from an MDO occurrence-based product to a claims-made insurance, it is unlikely that you will need a retroactive start date on your new insurance policy. Your previous defence organisation will handle any claims arising from incidents that occurred when you were in their membership.

Your policy will look after any future claims relating to incidents that happen after your new policy began.

If you are unsure whether you need a retroactive start date applied to your policy, then please talk to a member of our specialist Medical Indemnity team before you get a quote.

They can be reached on 0330 912 0684 and will work with you to ensure there are no gaps in your cover.

GMC representation (relating to private or NHS work) is included. Access to legal support is also available to help manage your reputation (including a help line and expert media management support if required).

The policy also includes professional indemnity to protect Medico-legal work, including work you do as an expert witness. We will also support you if you are asked to attend an Coroner's Inquest or Fatal Accident Inquiry.

Yes. We know healthcare does not keep standard business hours which is why our expert Medico-legal team is on hand around the clock to provide advice and support whenever you need it.

This expert support is provided by one of the leading international healthcare law firms, who will provide 24/7 medico-legal advice and support. They also provide specialist clinical negligence lawyers to advise and defend you in relation to any claims, complaints, or regulatory investigations.

Call 0203 393 3273 and the Medico-legal team will support you - taking proactive steps to mitigate any risk to you, your career and your reputation.

We’ve got this covered. We know medical claims don’t always happen in the same policy period that the incident occurs – they may only come to light many years later.

When you wind up your private practice, you want to be confident that you are protected against future claims. In this case, our policy offers an Extended Reporting Period (ERP) of up to 25 years after your policy ends.

This means you are protected against any matters that occurred while you had a policy and that you were not aware of, which may later result in a claim.

Any claims you notified to us before your policy ended, would continue to be managed by us.

If you have held the policy for less than four years then the ERP will be chargeable. Should you have any questions about Extended Reporting Periods or the associated costs, then please call our specialist Medical Indemnity team on 0330 912 0684.

We know doctors are increasingly likely to have claims made against them and understand the distress this can cause, as well as the financial consequences. Our insurer will work with you on any claim and will not settle without consulting you.

Our zero excess policy means that you do not need to contribute to any claims costs.

If you operate/own a limited company any other clinicians e.g. doctors and nurses who work for your company, will need to carry their own indemnity insurance as this policy will not cover them.

The policy does include vicarious liability protection, which covers the cost (up to £100,000) of deflecting claims to other parties partly or wholly responsible for the malpractice claim directed against you/your company.

Yes, if you are aware of any claim – or circumstance that could become a claim – you must report it as soon as possible (within 30 days) to be covered. This is very easy to do – all you need to do is email the contact details withing the policy outlining the details.

Promptly reporting circumstances that might develop into a claim within the policy period also protects you should a claim come in after your policy has ended. Early reporting enables quick intervention that can also help prevent matters escalating and contain costs. Read more about the benefits of early reporting.

The medical indemnity insurance Aon arranges is designed for doctors, consultants and surgeons who either work fully or partly in private practice and require cover for clinical negligence claims as well as regulatory matters. Our clients may just be starting to practise privately, already running an established practice or be employed by a private healthcare organisation: If you work solely in the NHS then you will benefit from the NHS Trust’s indemnity should an NHS patient make a claim against you. This means you do not need to hold your own medical indemnity.

This cover is designed to protect doctors, consultants and surgeons practising in the UK, irrespective of whether they own their own company.