Speech pathologists indemnity and liability insurance
Your line of work is unique, so we’ve tailored an insurance policy that best suits the needs of your profession to better protect your reputation and livelihood.
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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 speech pathologists combining: professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, and product liability insurance.
Product liability
Insurance cover for liability for injury or property damage caused by goods sold or supplied by you to others. For example, this can include equipment or products provided to a patient that causes an allergic reaction or physical harm.
Cover and benefits of this speech pathologist 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.
Common speech pathologist 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.
Our partnership with speech pathology australia
Guild is the principal partner of Speech Pathology Australia.
We work closely with your association to tailor an insurance policy suited to your unique needs.
Speech Pathology Australia is the national peak body for speech pathology, dedicated to supporting communication health and helping individuals connect and thrive.
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 speech pathologist. We cover a variety of risk management topics, from managing complaints, to social media risks, maintaining your speech pathology centre, and much more.
Record keeping checklist - Speech Pathology
Maintaining appropriate and proper clinical records relies on speech pathologists integrating fundamental record keeping practices into their daily routines. Using this checklist will help to evaluate your practice. ‘No’ answers are opportunities for improvement.
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I keep a separate record for each client. |
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I obtain and record informed consent for all services provided. |
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My entries are legible, accurate, and made in chronological order and clearly dated. Any corrections I make to records do not remove the original information. |
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I have signed my notes, and initialled any corrections or additions. |
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I record sufficient information to allow me or someone else to return to the records at any time and be able to understand what took place and why. |
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My entries are made at the time of the session, or as soon thereafter as practicable within 48 hours. |
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If I don’t have an opportunity to write my notes until the following day, I always enter the date I’m making the additional entry in the client’s record. |
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If documents are scanned to the record, such as external reports, the scanning is done to a sufficient quality that retains the legibility of the original document. |
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I have consistent processes for recording the details of any further interactions with clients that may occur via telephone, text message or other method. |
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I only use abbreviations that are widely recognised and accepted in speech pathology or I provide a list of abbreviations in the client’s file. |
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I don't make subjective or emotive comments; all information is professional. I know that clients have a right to access their records. |
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All client care and entries in the record are made with the SPA’s Code of Ethics in mind. |
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I keep an appropriate, consistent standard of clinical records for all clients, not just those with complex needs. |
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While I may ask a suitably qualified assistant to record some health information in the client’s record, I always review their entries. I know that I cannot delegate responsibility for the accuracy of health information recorded to another person. |
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The date of any funding claim matches the date of therapy in the clinical record. |
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The claim item number matches the therapy type and length detailed in the clinical record |
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The provider number recorded for a claim matches the provider number for the speech pathologist that provided the service according to the clinical record. |
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My records are stored securely and in a way that ensures they can be promptly retrieved |
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My records are collected, maintained, transferred and disposed of in accordance with privacy laws and state or territory laws. |
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I have developed a privacy policy that provides information to clients about the collection, access, disclosure and retention of their health records. |
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We have regular training for everyone at our practice about the appropriate collection, storage, access and disposal of records. |
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- Speech Pathologists
- Business
- Professional
Insurance for speech pathology centres
If you own a speech pathology centre or training facility and need insurance for your building, contents and more. Visit our information on business insurance for speech pathology businesses.
*Coverage up to $20 million requires your selection of cover up to this limit during the quote and purchase process.
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