Other Professions
If your profession isn't listed here, feel free to give us a call on 1800 210 213 and we'll be happy to help you.
If you're forced to defend your professional reputation, you'll want the best support behind you.
Our policies include three types of insurance in one designed specifically for working professionals combining: professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, and product liability insurance.
Product liability
Insurance that covers you if a product you sell or supply causes injury or property damage. This includes things like a client getting sick or injured from items such as foam rollers, orthopaedic pillows or massage tools.
Extra benefits of this insurance policy
Nil basic excess on liability claims
Run-off cover which protects you when you’ve ceased practising permanently
Cover for legal costs and expenses associated with complaints to your registration body, disciplinary proceedings or a coronial inquiry
Provides a 21-day cooling-off period, allowing you to change your mind after purchasing coverage
Ongoing education through our RiskHQ, providing you with relevant and informative information on the risks that matter to you
Round-the-clock support with 24 / 7 claim support line availability
To find out more or to get your hands on our policy wording, simply call us on 1800 810 213.
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.
Partnership with leading industry associations
Guild is the principal partner of many leading industry associations and has been for years.
We work closely with your association to tailor an insurance policy suited to your unique needs.
Insurance for students studying
As a student, we understand you’ve got enough to worry about between completing your studies, getting enough practice hours in and preparing yourself for working with clients. The last thing on your mind is insurance cover. But one small accident could set you back for life.
To find out whether your studies are covered by insurance, click here.
Not just an insurance policy
Risk articles with RiskHQ
You can visit RiskHQ at any time to read up about the unique risks you face as a working professional. We cover a variety of risk management topics, from managing complaints, to social media risks, maintaining your business, and much more.
Workplace bullying in early learning
Bullying in the workplace is a serious work health and safety issue which affects all workplaces, including early learning services. Guild Insurance regularly manages workers compensation claims where there are allegations of staff members being bullied. Bullying negatively impacts both employees as well as the business they work for; therefore, it’s something all businesses should be aware of and be consciously working towards eradicating.
What is and isn’t bullying?
Bullying is repeated unreasonable behaviour directed towards workers. Bullying can occur in many forms; it may be physical or psychological, it can be direct and obvious or indirect and subtle. Examples of bullying are:
- Behaving aggressively
- Teasing or practical jokes
- Pressuring someone to behave inappropriately
- Excluding someone from work related activities or events
- Abusive or offensive comments
- Belittling or humiliating comments
Sometimes workers believe any behaviour or action in the workplace which makes them feel uncomfortable is bullying. However, this isn’t the case. Actions carried out by management, such as disciplinary action or feedback about poor performance, isn’t bullying when done reasonably. Disagreements are also generally not bullying when they’re handled reasonably. There are other workplace behaviours, such as discrimination and sexual harassment, which while completely unacceptable, won’t necessarily be considered bullying depending on the circumstances.
Bullying doesn’t just occur in a face‑to‑face physical setting. More and more cases are being reported of bullying occurring online using social media. This online behaviour can be easier to hide and often won’t occur during work hours, yet the consequences for employees and employers are just as severe.
Consequences of workplace bullying
There can be many consequences, both for individuals and the workplace, when bullying is taking place.
Firstly, it is the responsibility of all employers and employees to create and maintain a safe work environment. If a workplace isn’t taking reasonable steps to prevent and manage bullying, this may be seen as a breach of WHS laws.
Bullying can lead to serious physical and psychological harm with people suffering from depression, stress, anxiety and emotional exhaustion. It is well recognised that workers suffering from physical or psychological harm are more likely to take sick days and not be as productive as they would hope to be when at work. Bullying can also lead to a high number of staff resignations.
Workplace bullying in early learning.
Preventing and dealing with bullying
There are numerous ways employees, employers and workplaces can reduce the likelihood of bullying occurring. There are also many resources available to support this.
1. Workplace culture
To create and maintain a workplace where bullying doesn’t exist, it’s important to start by addressing the culture of that early learning service. Managers and senior staff need to be sure they’re leading by example in the behaviour they demonstrate and expect of their staff. All staff should be expected to treat their colleagues fairly and with respect, and this behaviour must start with those most senior.
It’s also vital that a culture is created where staff feel comfortable speaking up if there’s something they’re unhappy about. If a staff member feels they’re being bullied by a colleague, it’s ideal that they speak to their manager first before considering making a formal complaint against the service. Yet for this to happen, this openness and willingness to discuss concerns needs to be supported and encouraged.
A key step an early learning service should take to prevent bullying occurring is to be sure no one thinks it won’t happen in their workplace. Bullying behaviour unfortunately can occur in any workplace. However, if a manager thinks their service is immune, it’s possible they won’t put in place the necessary processes to prevent this which could place them at greater risk.
2. Business policies
Early learning services all have an extensive list of policies for their business. There are many policies which are required from a regulatory perspective. However, all services should consider what other areas they should develop policies for beyond those required; bullying is an example of this. A policy on workplace bullying should include information about what a staff member should do if they’re experiencing bullying and how the service will respond to this. Workplaces should also have a social media policy which sets out appropriate social media behaviour for both personal and professional use.
The benefit of having a policy, rather than just stating what’s required, is that it formally sets the standard that all staff are expected to abide by and can be continually referred to. However, for policies to be effective they need to be known about and be accessible for all staff. This means services need a process for making sure staff are aware of the policies they need to adhere to.
3. Performance management processes
Performance management discussions can unfortunately lead to staff confusing feedback with bullying. This confusion can often occur due to the way the performance appraisal is delivered. It’s incredibly important that managers are undertaking their role in a reasonable manner so that it doesn’t cross that line and become bullying.
Addressing poor performance shouldn’t be put off until an official staff feedback or review discussion. Doing this means that a staff member’s poor performance will continue for some time without them being aware. Receiving this unexpected feedback only at review time can be viewed as unfair and unreasonable by staff members.
When discussions are had regarding performance issues, staff should be encouraged to have a support person there with them. This person can provide them with moral support during the meeting as well as afterwards. A record of these discussions should be made so there’s a history of what was said by all parties and what was agreed to.
The Fairwork Ombudsman provides resources to assist with managing underperforming staff members, this information can be found at:
www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/best-practice-guides/managing-underperformance
4. Additional resources
Preventing and managing bullying is not easy; therefore there are resources available to assist workplaces with this challenge. For assistance with understanding what bullying is, how to prevent it and what both employees and employers should do if it does occur, refer to the following sites:
- Childcare
- Early Learning
- Business
Insurance for your Businesses
If you run a clinic and need insurance for your premises, equipment, and more, visit our information on business insurance.
*Coverage up to $20 million requires your selection of cover up to this limit during the quote and purchase process.
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