Physiotherapists indemnity & liability insurance

You take the aches and pains out of everyday life. We take the pain out of insurance by tailoring our policies to better protect your reputation and livelihood.


13 months for 12

Until 31 October 2025 we're offering a special, WELCOME deal of 13 months insurance for the price of 12. Terms and conditions apply.


Get a Quote
Female physio in front of physiotherapy studio. For insurance

What you are covered for as a physiotherapist

Exercise and fitness professional indemnity and public liability insurance

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 physiotherapists combining: professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, and product liability insurance.

Professional indemnity

Insurance cover for claims made against you from the work you do as a physiotherapist in your usual work. For example, failing to properly explain or demonstrate an exercise correctly, which then results in an injury, or further injury, to your client.

Public liability

Insurance cover for injury and property damage that happens to third parties and clients in connection to your business, such as a client or visitor slips on wet floors or falls on uneven surface within your premises which causes injury.

Product liability

Insurance cover for liability for injury or property damage caused by goods sold or supplied by you. This can include cover for clients getting sick or injured from products you provide for example; resistance bands, healing remedies or other products.

 

Extra benefits of this insurance policy

 

  • Group exercise for yoga and pilatesCover for personal training including one on one or group (up to 5 persons) pilates or yoga programs when they are in support of your treatment program
  • Dry needling iconCover for alternative therapies such as acupuncture and dry needling
  • Clipboard for Exercise programsCover for exercise programs
  • Cover for exercise consultationsCover for exercise consultations
  • Good Samaritan IconRun-off cover which protects you when you’ve ceased practising permanently
  • Law IconCover for legal costs and expenses associated with complaints to your registration body, disciplinary proceedings or a coronial inquiry
  • 24/7 Support IconRound-the-clock support with 24 / 7 claim support line availability
  • Nil excess icon of dollar sign crossed outNil basic excess on liability claims
  • Confidentiality IconBreach of confidentiality cover following alleged or actual unintentional breach of confidentiality by you
  • Cooling Off IconProvides a 21-day cooling-off period, allowing you to change your mind after purchasing coverage
  • Learning materials - book iconOngoing education through our RiskHQ, providing you with relevant and informative information on the risks that matter to you

 

 

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.

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 physiotherapist. We cover a variety of risk management topics, from managing complaints, to social media risks, maintaining your physiotherapy practice, and much more.

When patients see multiple practitioners

Feb 10, 2025, 16:52
Rating
Title : When patients see multiple practitioners
Authors name :
Authors designation :
View count : 518

Guild Insurance regularly manages claims where a patient has been treated by more than one practitioner. This has led Guild to explore how treatment by multiple practitioners may contribute to complaints by patients which can lead to an insurance claim.

Evaluating another practitioner’s work

It’s quite likely that many natural therapy practitioners will at times treat a patient who’s previously been treated by another natural therapy practitioner.  And in some of these cases the practitioner may have questions about that previous treatment, such as when:

  • the treatment may not seem to be up to the appropriate standard,
  • the treatment selected may not appear the be the most ideal or obvious choice, or
  • it may seem as though the treatment provided has not led to the intended or expected outcome.

Practitioners must be very mindful of how they handle these situations and what they say to or in front of the patient.  It’s understandable that to provide treatment the practitioner will want an understanding of prior treatment.  However, conversations about another practitioner’s treatment, if not conducted appropriately, may contribute to the patient lodging a complaint against that other practitioner.

How can these complaints be avoided?

  • Don’t make comments to a patient judging the treatment another practitioner has provided.  It’s possible that the clinical situation you’re seeing is not the same as what the first practitioner saw.  Also, if the patient has told you what their treatment consisted of, it’s possible they might be incorrect due to their lack of clinical knowledge.  Making even what you see as a small or insignificant comment to a patient regarding the choice and quality of treatment provided by another practitioner could be enough to encourage that patient to make a complaint.
  • If you’re seeing a patient for the first time, be careful to not fall into the trap of simply relying on the patient telling you what their previous treatment entailed or just relying on previous patient records.  You need to have a thorough understanding of the patient’s condition; only then can you decide what therapy will be most appropriate.
  • If you’ve taken over the treatment of a patient from another practitioner whose health records are insufficient, you may need to spend some time doing further assessment before continuing with their ‘usual’ treatment. It’s advisable to engage the patient in a positive conversation on why you’re doing that, to manage their expectations.
  • Managing patient expectations from the outset is vital.  Make patients aware of what to expect from their treatment; they won’t want surprises.  The more they understand about their treatment and likely outcomes, the less likely they are to be dissatisfied and look elsewhere for treatment.
  • Building relationships with patients is an important element in running a successful practice.  Get to know your patients and give them a reason to trust you and come back to you. 
  • Patients can become frustrated with ongoing costs of treatment, especially if they aren’t seeing the benefit they’d expected.  Always be open and upfront about the cost of treatment.  And where possible, let them know how many treatment sessions you anticipate they’ll require to achieve the anticipated outcome. 
  • Documentation is vital! The key to dealing with a dissatisfied patient who’s considering making a claim or complaint against you is your accurate health records.  If your work is being questioned by a patient, or another practitioner, you’ll need a record of the facts behind your decision making.
  • Avoid offering refunds or free treatments in the event of a poor or unexpected outcome.  This may be seen by the patient as an admission of responsibility or liability and they may expect that discounted or free treatments will continue.  Always contact Guild Insurance on 1800 810 213 before offering any form of compensation to a patient.

And finally, maintain a high level of professional and appropriate behaviour at all times, both when treating patients and anytime you’re communicating and interacting with them.  This not only reflects well on you, it can also improve the public perception of natural therapy as a profession. 

Download PDF here.

markets :
  • Natural Therapists
types :
  • Professional
Categories :
  • Communication
Load more reviews
Rating
Comment by from
Rating

Insurance for your physiotherapy practice

If you own a physiotherapy practice and need insurance for your building, contents and more. Visit our information on business insurance for physiothapy businesses.

Physiotherapy Business Insurance

fitness centre insurance with Guild Insurance
Was this page helpful?

*Coverage up to $20 million requires your selection of cover up to this limit during the quote and purchase process.