Summary of Cover
As a financial member of the Victorian Psychologists Association Inc. your membership also provides you with professional indemnity insurance cover.
The policy is a group insurance policy taken out by the Health Services Union Victorian No. 4 Branch with Vero Insurance Limited on behalf of psychologist members. The Policy Number is LPP0016115548. The policy document is available for inspection during office hours at our offices.
A summary of the key features of the policy follows:
- The insurance covers all VPA Inc members who are in employment for incidents of Professional negligence. Members must also be members of the HSU Victoria No 4 Branch to access the cover.
- Cover does NOT extend to VPA Inc members in any private practice. Members in private practice are advised to take out their own individual professional indemnity insurance to cover their private practice, which meets the requirements of the Psychology Board of Australia.
- The sum insured is, in the case of professional negligence, up to $10,000,000 per claim (and $70,000,000 in the aggregate per annum), inclusive of legal expenses associated with the claim. The same amount of cover extends to libel and slander; actions arising out of the Trades Practices Act; lost documents; Good Samaritan acts and public liability.
- The policy covers legal representation for any Court appearance arising out of your occupation including coronial inquiries.
- The policy covers legal representation in relation to matters before the Psychology Board of Australia.
- No excess applies.
- There is unlimited retroactive cover, excluding any known claims or circumstances prior to the renewal of the insurance
- You are covered for claims which arise after your membership ceases, provided that the act, error or omission giving rise to the claim occurred prior to the expiration of the financial membership, and you resign from the union for bona fide reasons, such as retirement from employment as a psychologist.
- Exclusion – use of any instrument contacting or penetrating skin tissue unless the instrument has been (a) used only once and discarded, or (b) is sterilised prior to reuse in accordance with the relevant health regulations
- Members MUST report any circumstances which may lead to a claim IMMEDIATELY to the VPA Inc office, as the policy is issued on a ‘claims made’ wording, which stipulates that all known circumstances must be reported to the insurer during the policy period. Failure to do so may lead to a claim being denied by the insurer.
Download a Professional indemnity insurance incident notification form here
