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Nagalro offers professional
indemnity and public liability insurance as part of the member’s annual
subscription. As the insurance is
obtained on a group basis, the cost is much less than a premium purchased
on an individual basis. Members are
covered against claims up to £5
Million pounds for both professional indemnity and public liability. There is a £250 excess which would apply to any member who is sued or requires assistance
under the legal expenses insurance scheme.
This cover applies to all Nagalro members carrying out duties under
the following groupings
Children's guardians, and reporting
officers
Family court advisers
Independent social work practitioners
and consultants
Trainers
Appraisal of staff
Advice and social work assessments
Investigation of complaints
Chairing of reviews and child protection
conferences
Family mediators,
Psychotherapists
Counsellors
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE
Members who are self-employed are indemnified in respect of their legal
liability to pay damages and
claimants’ costs and expenses arising from any claim made against them,
arising out of any negligent act, error or omission, breach of
confidentiality, libel, slander or defamation committed or alleged to have been committed by the member whilst in
the course of their duties. The
underwriters would pay the costs and expenses incurred in their defence.
For members employed by Cafcass
For members employed by Cafcass, professional indemnity and public
liability claims arising out of their work would probably be met by their
employers, although there may not be any stated insurance cover to this effect. However, should this not be the
case members would be covered by Nagalro as part of their membership
subscription.
Nagalro
insurance underwriters advise us that as CAFCASS practitioners are
appointed personally to a case
and are responsible for their actions and decisions under the amended
courts rules, anyone suing for redress would sue both the individual and
CAFCASS.
This is
similar to what happens to some other public sector
employees such as doctors
employed by the National Health Service most of whom have personal
professional indemnity insurance to
protect themselves against any claim for professional negligence. It is our view that CAFCASS employees now
have similar good reason to maintain personal professional indemnity and
public liability insurance.
PUBLIC
LIABILITY COVER
Members are covered for situations where they might
visit someone in their home on a professional basis and they accidentally
damage the property or are responsible for some breakage. Alternatively a member is visited in their home by an individual on a
professional basis, and that individual incurs a loss such as breaking a
leg and so incurring loss of earnings.
In such instances the scheme would cover members for successful
claims made against them.
CONDITIONS
UNDER WHICH MEMBERS ARE COVERED BY THE SCHEME
In order to
qualify for insurance protection, members must be a paid up member at the
time of the incident which then leads to
an insurance claim. They must have
also been a paid up member on a continuous basis from the time of the
incident and to the time a claim
is made. Hence retrospective claims
would not qualify for cover.
AVAILABLITY OF
LEGAL ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS
Nagalro
has an arrangement with a firm of solicitors
by which members are able to
obtain limited legal advice in relation to
circumstances in which professional indemnity insurance cover does not apply. Members who wish to
have access to this, should
contact the Nagalro office who will then consider the matter.
MEMBERS AND
THE GENERAL SOCIAL CARE COUNCIL
Members
are entitled to legal advice and
legal costs up to £5000 if they
have to respond to allegations made by the GSCC questioning their professional competence
and the investigation process may lead to
a tribunal. The choice of lawyer can be made by the member provided he has
the approval of the insurers. In such situation members are advised to contact the Nagalro office as soon as they
receive notification that such a process has started.
MEMBERS WHO LEAVE NAGALRO,
RETIRING MEMBERS AND MEMBERS GOING ON MATERNITY LEAVE
These
groups of members are all covered indefinitely by the policy provided they
were a paid up member at the time the incident allegedly occurred. A claim arising out of past professional
work would be covered even if the member left Nagalro, retired from work or
went on maternity leave.
12.01.2010
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