Insurance for dentists
When it comes to insurance, we don't want you to simply go with the flow. Which is why at Guild, we're constantly evolving to reflect the real-life needs of dentists like you.
Join Guild Insurance today and choose to be protected by an insurer that's worked hand in hand with ADA NSW, ADA SA, ADAVB and ADATAS for over 25 years.
Professional indemnity and liability
Protects you for what you do as a dentist.
Business
insurance
Protects your dental practice and items in it.
Professional indemnity insurance covers you for your civil liability when a claim arises from a breach of your professional duty. For many professional policies at Guild Insurance combine professional indemnity, public liability, and product liability to cover more of your professional duties. Business insurance, on the other hand, is a broader category that encompasses various types of coverage designed to protect businesses from a wide range of risks. This can include property damage, theft, and liability claims from third parties.
For professionals providing advice or services:
- Assess your service risk: Evaluate the potential risks associated with your professional advice or services. Consider the possibility and implications of your advice or actions leading to a client's physical, psychological, or financial detriment. Reflect on the likelihood and consequences of a situation where an error or omission on your part could lead to legal action.
- Understand legal requirements: Familiarise yourself with the legal and regulatory landscape relevant to your profession. Is holding professional indemnity insurance a legal requirement or an industry standard in your field?
For certain contract positions and many allied health professionals regulated under Ahpra require professional indemnity and/or public liability insurance. - Consider your financial exposure: If faced with a legal claim, could you afford the legal defence and potential damages out of pocket?
For business owners protecting their operations:
- Identify your business assets: Determine which physical assets are crucial to your business operations, such as property, equipment, and inventory. Consider the consequences if these assets were damaged, stolen or lost.
- Evaluate liability risks: How likely is it that someone could be injured or their property damaged because of your business activities? This includes both public liability and product liability.
- Consider business interruptions: Think about the resilience of your business in the face of unforeseen events that might force temporary closure. How would such interruptions impact your financial stability?
If you are unsure of the cover you require, please contact us on 1800 810 213 to speak to an insurance specialist.
Key Product Features
Discover the limits and coverage built in to every Guild dentist liabilities policy.
Renewal FAQs
See the latest frequently asked questions and information for renewals in 2025.
Association Endorsed
Find out more about our long standing partnership with several branches of the ADA.
Hear from other dentists
01/09/2024
The support and guidance is very good. They helped me through it with patience.
01/07/2024
Simple and comprehensive. I wouldn’t choose anyone else for insurance.
01/01/2025
I have compared you with few other insurances but yet to find a good company like Guild!
Working with over 130 associations
Insuring Australians for over 60 years
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Consumer and board complaints – the New South Wales dental experience
In recent times it has been an increasing trend for patients of dental practices to file applications which can be broadly described as consumer claims with a consumer tribunal. Whilst the information provided in this article is specific to NSW it is important that all practitioners are aware of this increasing trend.
In NSW the relevant body is the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (“CTTT”). The CTTT deals with consumer claims against business’ regarding the supply of goods or services and the bulk of these disputes are dealt with in the General Division of the CTTT.
Given that the Dental Board of NSW (“the Board”) does not have power to award compensation, save for a refund of treatment fees, many patients commence consumer claims in the CTTT in order to seek to recover additional compensation for future losses or general damages.
It has become increasingly commonplace for patients to lodge a complaint with the Board and make a concurrent application to the CTTT.
Consumer trader and tenancy tribunal
The CTTT has jurisdiction under the Consumer Claims Act 1998, to determine disputes about any goods or services, up to the value of $30,000.
The CTTT’s General Division (consumer claims) can hear and determine applications from consumers only. There is no automatic right of legal representation unless the application is for an amount greater than $10,000, or unless it can be submitted that the claim involves complex issues of law or fact. As a result, in our experience the CTTT can and does exercise its discretion to refuse applications made on behalf of dental practitioners, for them to be legally represented in this jurisdiction. Accordingly, both the applicant patient and the respondent dental practitioner to the consumer claim must appear in person. Failure to appear can result in adverse orders being made against the dental practitioner’s interests, which could include payment of the total value of the applicant’s claim, which would then be an enforceable judgment.
The provision of dental services for a fee, can be described to be a consumer claim in the General Division. The CTTT has jurisdiction to consider patient claims for such things as a refund of treatment fees, an order to replace or return goods (such as dentures), an order to pay for future treatment fees and an order to pay general damages for pain and suffering.
The CTTT is generally a no costs jurisdiction, which means that each party is to bear its own costs, except for the most exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances could include a vexatious claim or any undue delay in the speedy resolution of the claim.
Practical implications
Given the informality of the CTTT jurisdiction and the general absence of a right to legal representation, the process of resolving a complaint can be a difficult one which requires the dental practitioner to deal directly with the patient in circumstances where the patient practitioner relationship has broken down. In addition, the inability to have formal submissions made on behalf of a dental practitioner, by a legal representative, does make if difficult for any Tribunal Member hearing an application to make findings in relation to the standard of care provided by a dental practitioner to a patient.
Necessarily therefore, independent peer written opinion is important in considering whether the practitioner has discharged his or her duty of care. As patients rarely prepare for a hearing by obtaining a peer expert opinion, it is necessary for that opinion to be obtained by Guild Lawyers on behalf of the dental practitioner, in order to demonstrate to the CTTT that he or she has a defence to the patient’s application.
Often times, a Tribunal Member will encourage an applicant and respondent to conciliate a matter, with a view to avoiding a hearing. Again there are many practical difficulties in such a process given the breakdown in patient practitioner relationship. Nevertheless, it is a requirement of the CTTT process, to engage in informal discussions.
Should a Board decision be notified whilst proceedings are ongoing before the CTTT, it is our practice to inform the CTTT of such a decision (assuming it to be a positive). It is then a matter for the CTTT Tribunal Member to decide what weight to attribute to the outcome, given that the decision arises from another jurisdiction.
Comment
In order to manage applications in a timely manner, assistance should be obtained by the Advisory Services team of the NSW Branch of the Australian Dental Association and Meridian Lawyers. With the assistance of Meridian Lawyers and the Advisory Services team, attempts can be made to resolve a patient’s application at an early stage, with a view to avoiding the necessity of appearing at a conciliation or hearing.
Fiona Dransfield
Special Counsel, Meridian Lawyers
- Dentists
- Professional
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FAQs
The law governs that any professional exercise the required skill to an appropriate level expected by that profession. A professional may be liable for financial loss, injury or damage arising from an act, error or omission of fault if the professional has not acted to the required level of skill deemed in that profession. Failure through this may result in the claimant (person who suffered the loss) be awarded for that loss, damage or injury.
Many professions require you to hold a professional indemnity insurance policy by law, such as Ahpra registered professions, but can be for other industries such as financial institutions also. Please check with your registration body or associations of your profession to know if it is required by law to have professional indemnity insurance. It is often also required by companies who take on contract workers that are not governed under the companies own insurance policy. It is acceptable for a company to ask you as the professional contractor to provide evidence of cover for professional indemnity before starting the contract period.
As stated above professional indemnity insurance covers you for breaches in relation to your professional duty. Liability insurance covers you for activity that results in personal injury or property damage as a result of your business activities that do not relate to your specific profession. An example may be someone who trips and is injured from spilled water within your office may be covered under liability, because it is your duty of care as business person to provide a safe environment. Whereas a person who suffers a loss or injury because of your professional treatment in relation to your job has caused it would usually be consider as an indemnity breach.
Generally business insurance is to cover the physical assets of your business for material damage loss and options for theft cover. It can also include cover for financial loss due to business interruption. Usually basic insurance does not cover breach of duty or flood cover, but if you speak to an insurance specialist it can often be added to your policy for a nominal fee.
Depending on the policy you are taking out, covers will often vary. At Guild insurance we specialise in making a policy to suit your business so that you are not over paying for covers you wouldn't normally need. The best thing to do is call 1800 810 213 to speak to an insurance specialist, they can find out what activities and structure your business is in to then provide you with adequate cover for you.
A certificate of currency (or COC for short) is a written document that confirms that your insurance policy is current and valid at a specific date and time. At Guild we provide easy access to your COC at any time within a few clicks of our online portal PolicyHub. If you are a new customer we can provide you with one post purchase.
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