The professional indemnity provider
keeping our doctors in practice

About EthiQal

Launched in November 2016, EthiQal is proud to offer South Africa’s first homegrown occurrence-based medical indemnity solution. With a firm belief that our doctors are a national asset that must be safeguarded for the well-being of our nation, we are committed to actively protecting our doctors, their practices and their patients.

As a company that cares about the future of medical care in South Africa, we collaborate with healthcare practitioners, their professional societies, the legal profession and government representatives to bring stability to the medico-legal landscape and to secure the future of the medical profession, while preserving and building medical care in the country for everyone’s benefit.

Our Vision

To support and enhance healthcare in South Africa by protecting our doctors and their patients through the enablement of optimised, innovative risk management solutions.

Our Mission

To be the leading provider of professional indemnity cover for healthcare providers, as well as their preferred risk management partner.

About Constantia

EthiQal is a division of Constantia Insurance Company Limited, part of Constantia Risk and Insurance Holdings (pty) Ltd, which has been in the insurance industry for over 65 years. As a trusted and innovative brand, Constantia is proud of its heritage and the contribution it has made to the South African insurance industry.

The Group is 100% owned by Conduit Capital Limited, a multibillion rand organisation listed on the JSE.  Constantia established a substantial reinsurance programme with Swiss Re from inception to June 2019, whereafter Constantia was able to attract reinsurance capacity from a panel of five UK and USA-based medical malpractice reinsurance partners.

In 2018, Constantia was awarded the prestigious Institute of Risk Management (IRMSA) Insurance Sector Award in recognition of EthiQal’s innovative contributions.

Our focus is on providing doctors with peace of mind and a sense of security that they’ve not had in the past, while also significantly reducing the cost of medical professional indemnity cover.

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The EthiQal advantage

EthiQal provides the only real occurrence-based cover protected by South African laws and regulations. We are pioneers of fair dispute resolution and are committed to protecting our doctors to keep them in practice.

YES

Real occurrence-based contracts

Occurrence-based cover is the most popular form of indemnity cover amongst doctors, as it is easy to understand and administer, and it provides protection for claims that result from any incident that occurs whilst being a policyholder. This is irrespective of when the claim is made and it includes the time after a policy has been cancelled.

Contrary to claims-made cover, it does not expose doctors to potential gaps in cover as a result of policy migration between financial service providers, contracted scope of practice, unexpected inability to purchase run-off cover or forfeiting of extended reporting periods.

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Bar material non-disclosure, occurrence-based policies provide certainty of future cover for any claim arising from incidents that happened during the policy period. With claims-made cover, doctors are only protected for adverse incidents that both occur and are reported during the policy period.

EthiQal is a local provider of professional indemnity cover, with contracts that are enforceable within South Africa’s legislative framework, with solvency monitored by the Prudential Authority.

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ACTIVE

Active Protection of Doctors

We firmly believe that our doctors are a national asset and must be protected. Our business model is underpinned by active risk management aimed at reducing medico-legal threats and stabilising professional indemnity premiums, while our business strategy is guided by a collaborative approach and the belief that real data will lead to real solutions.

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Our investments are aimed at supporting doctor-driven risk management solutions like the development of practice guidelines, patient educational leaflets, informed consent forms, as well as the establishment of communication platforms and data repositories.

Policyholders may also benefit from a free practice management consultation to protect their practice.

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PIONEERS

Pioneers of fair dispute resolution

EthiQal’s in-house team of highly experienced lawyers and doctors is easily accessible, provides day-to-day medico-legal advice and oversees the claim adjudication and resolution process with the support of reputable law firms, all of whom have established track records of excellence in the medico-legal field.

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As pioneers of fair dispute resolution, we are intolerant of unethical behaviour and vexatious claims and we are committed to intervening on these, where identified. To protect the practitioner and the patient against the mental strain of unnecessary prolongation of a dispute, to achieve the best outcome for both parties in the shortest possible time period, to avoid unnecessary legal fees and to restore the doctor-patient relationship, where possible, we actively promote mediation as an alternative to litigation. We are also advocates for impartial expert opinion panels.

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Meet the EthiQal team

Our highly skilled and professional team is committed to supporting our medical professionals and effecting positive change in our healthcare system.

Peter Todd
Peter Goeffrey Todd

Chief Executive Officer

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Peter Todd has extensive industry experience and boasts over 20 years of financial services industry experience, both in South Africa and abroad. He has a number of business interests in the claims management space having co-founded Repair Solutions in 2014 and subsequently having expanded into other areas of the insurance value chain.

Prior to setting up his own business interests, Peter held a number of senior positions in the industry including Chief Executive of Mutual & Federal; Managing Executive for Distribution at Absa Financial Services as well as Chairman of Credit Guarantee Insurance Company.

Peter also spent six years in Singapore as the Regional Managing Director of Alexander Forbes Asia Pacific.

Peter has served as a Director on a number of insurance industry Boards, including the South African Insurance Association and is a Past President of the Insurance Institute of South Africa.

Peter has a B.Com LLB degree from the University of Cape Town and was admitted as an Attorney of the High Court in 1996, having served his articles at Jan S de Villiers & Son.

JP Ellis

Senior Legal and Claims Manager

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JP is an admitted attorney with B Comm and LL B degrees and was a senior attorney at an international law firm. His primary focus has been in the field of insurance law, medical malpractice work and health regulation. He is a trained mediator and has completed a certificate in medico-legal practice through the University of Cape Town.

Since joining Constantia in 2017 he has been responsible for: overseeing claims management; providing advice and opinions on regulatory aspects pertaining to insurance and healthcare; drafting commercial documentation in compliance with the relevant insurance statutory framework; co-ordinating various law reform initiatives with industry stakeholders and government; providing medico-legal assistance and advice to medical specialists; providing general and legal advisory services to the business; and assisting in risk management initiatives.

JP most enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. His other interests include travelling and participating in combat sports such as full contact karate, Brazilian jujitsu, and mixed martial arts.

“You can’t do it unless you can imagine it” – George Lucas

Dr Bettina Taylor

Senior Risk Specialist

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After starting her career in academic clinical practice, Bettina pursued her interests in health economics, medical ethics and risk management. She spent more than 20 years at Medscheme, where she led drug and health technology assessments and health policy, and where she engaged at industry level in healthcare financing reform.

She joined Constantia in 2017, focused on driving EthiQal’s vision of supporting and enhancing healthcare by protecting South Africa’s doctors through the development and enablement of risk management solutions.

Relaxation time for Bettina includes open water swims in the Cape’s icy oceans and walks on the mountain. Whilst she successfully completed her first Robben Island crossing in 2017, doing the same without the protection of a wetsuit remains on her bucket list.

“Primum non nocere” – origin unknown

Dr Hlombe Makuluma

Medico-Legal Advisor

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Hlombe is a qualified general medical practitioner with a Masters in Medical Law and Ethics from the University of Pretoria. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the health industry from operating his own private practice and working for various corporates to health consulting.

At EthiQal, he provides medico-legal advice on various issues affecting the doctor, from general advice through to claims, complaints and notifications. He is the interface between the doctor and legal and risk management processes.

When not busy with work-related matters, he explores various mountain bike trails with his mountain bike. He has finished a couple of Cape Cycle Tours and 94.7 Cycle Challenges.

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.” – Jim Rohn

Gerald Mathebula

Senior Manager: Market and Channel Development

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Before joining Constantia Insurance Company Limited, Gerald worked in the healthcare industry for 21 years after starting his working life as a teacher. He got his healthcare experience from companies like Discovery Health, MX Health, Netcare Group and Hosmed Medical Scheme.

He joined EthiQal, a division of Constantia, in 2018. His principal responsibilities are channel development, sales and distribution, as well as coordinating marketing activities.

When he is not busy at work, Gerald enjoys playing golf, reading and watching movies.

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

Alex Brownlee

Executive: EthiQal

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Alex [FASSA FFA BSc(Hons)] is an experienced executive Actuary with extensive experience in product development, pricing, risk management, advanced analytics and technical marketing.

Over his career he has dealt in pensions, worked in life assurance in the UK, worked for an international health reinsurer and worked in a large healthcare company. He has worked both within insurers and as a consultant, but over the last seven years been involved at an executive level enjoying the balance of management, business and strategy development.

Alex has been an active HIV/Aids then Health committee member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), as well as a member and secretary of the Health Section of the International Actuarial Association (IAA).

Varuna Naidoo

Operations & Client Services Manager

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Varuna is a passionate professional with a solid track record of delivery and leadership in many insurance business environments. Her past experience and knowledge will be of considerable value in helping achieve the mission of EthiQal to be the leading provider of professional indemnity cover for doctors, as well as their preferred risk management partner.

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“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

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