MEDICAL INDEMNITY PRODUCTS

Tailored for the needs of our medical professionals

A solution for all your professional needs

At EthiQal, we pride ourselves in having revolutionised professional medical indemnity products in South Africa, by offering affordable, professional medical indemnity cover tailored to the requirements of our doctors. Our commitment is to provide peace of mind to doctors and their patients, while bringing stability to the medico-legal landscape.

What is professional medical indemnity?

Professional indemnity, also called Errors and Omissions Insurance or Malpractice Insurance, is designed to protect you against legal costs and claims for personal injury damages where you are accused of medical negligence. It can include the claimant’s costs and the medical practitioner’s defence costs which may arise out of an act, omission or alleged breach of professional duty during treatment of your patients.

What types of cover are available?

We offer two different policies – claims-made and comprehensive. Where practitioners are changing from other claims-made products, retroactive cover is also available.

Medicolegal advice is offered free-of-charge to all policyholders.

Comprehensive Policy

This policy provides cover for professional incidents that occur during your period of insurance. Claims arising from these will be covered if they are reported during your period of insurance, and any time thereafter in the event of death or permanent disability, as well as on retirement if you have had your policy for at least five years, uninterrupted, prior to your retirement. In the event of emigration, the policy makes provision for an extended reporting period. Automatic cover for specific additional costs that may be incurred as a result of allegations of misconduct against you (for example the appointment of a public relations consultant to protect your reputation or loss of income due to legal proceedings), public liability claims or inquiries by the information regulator due to actual or alleged breaches of confidentiality and privacy are furthermore included. These additional benefits are known as policy extensions.

Claims Made Policy

This policy provides cover for professional incidents that occur and are reported during your period of insurance. Limited run-off cover at no additional premium is covered in the event of death, permanent disability, retirement, ceasing to practice as registered healthcare practitioner or on emigration.

Claims Made Policy

This policy provides cover for professional incidents that occur and are reported during your period of insurance. Limited run-off cover at no additional premium is covered in the event of death, permanent disability, retirement, ceasing to practice as registered healthcare practitioner or on emigration.

Retroactive cover

If you are switching insurance from another claims-made product, it is important that you do not expose yourself to gaps in cover. Careful attention must be paid in such transition to your current retro date, as well as your scope of practice during your professional career. Retroactive cover is available on both our comprehensive as well as claims-made policies.

To protect yourself and your practice, speak to EthiQal about finding the right professional indemnity cover for your needs and at the best price.

What are the benefits of being covered by EthiQal?

Non-discretionary cover

EthiQal is a registered Financial Services Provider, and so our policies, including limits of insurance, scope of cover, exclusions and requirements for cover are clearly defined and binding. Policyholders are fully protected in terms of South African laws and regulations which includes the insurance principle of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and easy access to the industry Ombudsman in the unlikely event of a dispute between the insured and the insurer.

This contrasts with indemnity cover provided by mutuals who may not be licensed as a Financial Services Provider (FSP) in South Africa and who offer cover on a discretionary basis according to their Memorandum and Articles of Association. Where the mutual is offshore, only a foreign country’s courts or arbitration panel could potentially adjudicate and rule on any dispute between the doctor and the indemnifier.

Medico-legal services

Our medico-legal services are not limited to the legal defence of claims where monetary demands are made. Our in-house medico-legal team is available to advise on, and defend you, where necessary, in any of the following circumstances that may arise from your professional practice:

  • HPCSA-related complaints relating to patient care
  • Relevant disciplinary matters
  • Inquests
  • Criminal investigations emanating from your clinical practice
  • Complaints in relation to your professional conduct and services
  • Defamation, including on social media and other media platforms

Support is also offered where you experience ethical dilemmas in terms of patient care or where you have specific medico-legal concerns relating to aspects of your practice management. For example, you may be concerned that your informed consent process may be inadequate in terms of legal requirements, or you are worried about your or your practices liability in terms of employees.

Counselling

Experiencing an adverse patient outcome or receiving a summons can have a devastating impact on a practitioner’s well-being. Counselling by qualified experts is available for practitioners who are suffering stress as a result of such events.

Practice management support

Few doctors have any form of training in running a private practice. Managing a business can thus be challenging and expose the practitioner to unknown medico-legal risks. This is particularly relevant where a doctor enters private practice for the first time.

To assist our practitioners manage a successful business where patients can be cared for safely, we have partnered with Vizibiliti, a company providing business management solutions for healthcare professionals. Vizibiliti has an eight-year track record of assisting independent healthcare business owners run compliant, profitable and sustainable practices. The organisation provides a structured framework with which to evaluate a doctor’s practice, allowing for a clear and focussed approach to managing risk.

Similarly, Vizibiliti offers guidance where practitioners retire or sell their practices. This is important for future peace of mind, both in terms of finances, as well as medico-legal risks.

Should you be interested in a practice review by Vizibiliti and to find out whether you qualify for a complimentary consultation through EthiQal, please contact Vizibiliti on the details listed below:

ALISON MAYTHAM

B.Com, MBA (UCT)
Director

T +27 (0)21 762 2207
C +27 (0)82 712 4980
E alison@vizibiliti.co.za
www.vizibiliti.co.za

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