Most professional bodies insist that their members should be fully insured and, until recently, a clause in the Society's Code of Ethics
stated that insurance was mandatory. This clause has now been dropped since the Committee is not satisfied that insurance can be
proved to be an ethical matter and believe that members should make up their own minds. Instead there are now two categories of
full membership: insured and ordinary.
However, even if you do not consider insurance to be a matter of ethics you may still consider it to be a matter of prudence. If you are
not insured, your whole livelihood will be at risk if somebody sues you. Remember that somebody can still sue even if they have no
justification, and that just defending yourself costs money. If you are innocent you may be awarded costs; but you may not be innocent
(we all make mistakes), and even if you are innocent this may not be clear to the court.
Insurance can have other benefits as well as security. You may need it in order to get referrals from doctors, since if somebody sues
and you cannot pay up, the referring doctor is liable, and if the referring doctor's own insurance does not cover this eventuality the
doctor will have to pay out of his or her own pocket. Naturally, doctors are unwilling to take this risk, so many of them will insist that you
have professional indemnity insurance before referring patients to you. You must also be insured if you want to join the British Register
of Complementary Practitioners.
There Society now offers a comprehensive Block Scheme Insurance package with H & L Balen which is available to all massage full members.
The cost for the basic scheme is currently:
£86.29
This is considerably cheaper than if you go direct to H & L Balen and get the Bridge Scheme which usually comes in at something around £85 for the basic premium, + £30 for administration/document fees and insurance premium fees.
About the Block Scheme
The Block Scheme, or to give it its full name, the Complementary Medical Professional Liability Block Insurance Policy for the Society of Holistic Practitioners, provides 3 main types of cover:
Medical Malpractice is where a practitioner has not performed with a reasonable degree of skill and care, resulting in possible injury or loss to the patient.
Professional Indemnity refers to a cover which indemnifies (i.e. protects) the practitioner against any allegations of loss arising from the conduct of his/her occupation, whether treating or not. This can cover financial loss due to inadequate or incorrect advice, consultancy work etc, and applies where injury has not been caused.
Public Liability
This covers liability at law for causing injury to other people (not necessarily clients/patients) for damage to their property, provided that no treatment or advice was the reason for the incident.
Product Liability
This covers you for any defect in goods (e.g. medicines, supplements and health aids) sold, supplied or demonstrated to your patients/clients, which may cause injury or damage. Even if you did not manufacture the item concerned and innocently passed it on, under EEC directive, the Consumer Protection Act etc, you will still be initially held liable.
Limit of Liability: £1,000,000 any one claim and in all during the period of insurance.
In addition, the policy also provides:
The climate of litigation is increasing due to the current blame culture that prevails. We are finding that claims incidents and allegations of sexual impropriety or assault are on the increase. We extend your protection to include this as well as many other situations that can happen in practise, whether voluntary or for payment. The cover is generous and the exclusion are few. Here are some of the salient features:
A range of other Specialist Insurance and Financial Services are available from Balens to help you in your practice and protect you and your family, including:
Joining the Block Scheme
If you would like to join the Block Scheme, simply complete the Application Forms included with your Membership Pack and return them, together with your payment, to:
H & L Balen & Company
If you are already a member of a different scheme, but would like to join the Block Scheme when your cover expires, return the Application Forms to H & L Balen & Company together with the appropriate quarterly payment:
Malpractice & Professional Liability
33 Graham Road
Great Malvern
Worcs
WR14 2HU
| Period | UK Members | Eire Members |
| 16 Dec - 15 Mar | £86.29 | Add 100% |
| 16 Mar - 15 Jun | £69.00 | Add 100% |
| 16 Jun - 15 Sep | £49.00 | Add 100% |
| 16 Sep - 15 Dec | £30.00 | Add 100% |