Indemnity insurance is something that no health care practitioner should be without. When unexpected situations arise or reputations or careers are under threat it is essential to have access to individual representation and the support of your medical defence organisation.
Medical indemnity insurance provides protection for doctors in the event of an adverse incident occurring during medical care. Without medical indemnity cover, doctors who are found to be negligent would be personally liable for covering the costs of any claim made against them. Medical indemnity cover, in addition to protecting doctors, also provides a level of security for consumers that they are able to receive compensation to which they may be entitled.
In some states of Australia it is a requirement that registered medical practitioners hold their own indemnity insurance. For doctors working in the public system, indemnity is usually provided by the relevant state health department (this is referred to as employer-indemnified). However, this cover is usually only for negligence claims that arise from providing health care to public patients. There are potentially matters, such as Medical Board inquiries or coronial inquests, that may not be covered by the employer, and public doctors should consider holding their own insurance to provide them with the right cover.
In 2003 the Commonwealth Government introduced a package to help strengthen and support the medical indemnity industry for insurers, doctors and the community. The package includes the following measures:
Premium Support Scheme (PSS)
The PSS assists eligible health care practitioners with the cost of their medical indemnity premiums. Under the PSS, if a doctor's gross medical indemnity costs exceed 7.5% of their gross private medical income, they will pay only 20% of the premium cost beyond this threshold. For more information about the PSS you can download Avant Insurance's PSS Terms and Conditions booklet or visit the DoHA website.
High Cost Claims Scheme (HCCS)
The HCCS reduces the cost of large claims to medical indemnity insurers by reimbursing 50% of the cost of a claim costing over a certain amount up to the limit of the practitioner's cover.
Exceptional Claims Scheme (ECS)
Policy limits for individual practitioner policyholders in Australia are generally $20 million. If a claim exceeds this policy limit the ECS will cover the excess to ensure doctors are not personally liable for amounts over the limit of their insurance cover.
Run-Off Cover Scheme (ROCS)
Under this scheme the cost of medical indemnity claims against doctors who have left the private medical workforce are covered by the government. ROCS is levied by an annual amount payable by doctors (5% of their annual premium).
For information about obtaining medical indemnity insurance from Avant Insurance use the navigation bar to the left of screen.
