Insurance
Professional Indemnity, Public Liability and Legal Expenses Insurance Scheme for Members of Nagalro
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 the following duties:
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Children's guardians, and reporting officers
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Family court advisers
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Independent social work practitioners and consultants
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Trainers
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Appraisal of staff
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Advice and social work assessments
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Investigation of complaints
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Chairing of reviews and child protection conferences
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Family mediators
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Psychotherapists
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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.
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 thereby incurring loss of earnings. In such instances the scheme will cover members for successful claims made against them.
Further Information
The general conditions of the policy cover members acting as a sole trader or as a body corporate undertaking the insured business activities. The policy in effect covers those members who have set up limited companies under which they trade their specific professional activities.
In order to qualify for insurance protection, members must be a paid-up member at the time of the incident which leads to an insurance claim. They must have been a paid-up member on a continuous basis from the time of the incident to the time a claim is made. Hence retrospective claims would not qualify for cover.
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 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 as the investigation process may lead to a tribunal.
The choice of lawyer can be made by the member provided she has the approval of the insurers.
In such situations members are advised to contact the Nagalro office as soon as they receive notification that such a process has started.
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 and professional indemnity insurance to protect themselves against any claim for professional negligence. It is our view that Cafcass employees have similar good reasons to maintain personal professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
These groups of members are 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 has left Nagalro, retired from work or is on maternity leave.