Occupational Therapy Board: Professional indemnity insurance

When practising, a registered occupational therapist (not students or non-practising registrants) is covered by their own or third-party PII for all aspects of practice, in all locations, in private, non-government and public sectors, and whether full-time, part-time, self-employed, employed, unpaid or volunteer. Exemptions apply where the scope of practice involves no health care or opinion on anyone's physical or mental health, where a statutory exemption from liability applies, or where practice is only overseas (run-off is still required for past Australian practice).

• Certificate of currency or employer confirmation for each practice setting
• Mapping of each role and location to the cover

• Private or NDIS sole-trader work outside the employer policy
• Volunteer clinics uninsured

The cover includes civil liability cover, appropriate retroactive cover for otherwise uncovered matters from prior practice, and automatic reinstatement or an equivalent so that one claim cannot exhaust it, or the equivalent under third-party arrangements.

• Policy schedule showing liability limit, retroactive date and reinstatement

• Retroactive date after practice began

Ask what any third-party arrangement covers and take extra cover if it falls short; do not practise in areas excluded from cover; hold individual cover for practice outside stated employment, such as practical CPD, study involving patient treatment or uncovered volunteer work.

• Written statement of the employer or union cover
• Individual policy for work outside employment

• Exclusions not read
• Weekend private work on employer cover

When arranging your own PII, give the broker, insurer or indemnifier accurate and current information on the scope and nature of practice, be able to show full disclosure, and justify the PII decisions if the Board or Ahpra asks; use an APRA-registered general insurer or Lloyd's underwriter and a contract of insurance.

• Insurance proposal describing services, settings and client groups
• Note of the reasons for the limit chosen

• New services such as paediatric home visits added without informing the insurer

Declare on applying that you will not practise without compliant PII; declare at each renewal that you practised in line with the standard and will continue to; notify the Board within seven days if appropriate PII is no longer in place (National Law ss 129, 130).

• Application and renewal declarations
• Written notice of lapsed cover
• Policy expiry diary

• Lapse not notified
• Practice between lapse and replacement

On deciding to cease practice, take out appropriate run-off cover for matters from previous practice that would otherwise be uncovered.

• Run-off policy or occurrence-based cover for the past practice

• Claims-made cover cancelled with no run-off

Retain documentary evidence of insurance held in your own name for at least five years; for third-party cover, obtain and give the Board, if it asks, a certified copy of the insurer's currency certificate or the third party's written confirmation of cover.

• Five years of certificates of currency
• Certified copy provided on request

• Old certificates not kept