The College provides full and student members with the following Medical and Public Liability insurance as a benefit of membership, subject to members being ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or Isle of Man:
- Full members insured for activities undertaken within the scope of paramedic practice from 1st November 2013 or date of college membership if later
- £5,000,000 limit per member
- Evidence of Insurance Certificates available from the College of Paramedics on request
- Samaritan Acts included
- Full members covered for voluntary work or any paid work where total earnings do not exceed £5,000 per annum (and excludes any NHS Work - contact James Hallam for wider cover)
- Worldwide cover (excluding the U.S.A. and Canada)
- No cover provided for members full-time employment (contact James Hallam for wider cover)
- Includes treatment of professional sports persons and elite athletes provided treatments do no exceed 21 days in total in any 12 month period
- Public Liability insurance for observation only electives in the U.S.A. or Canada
Student Insurance
Student members are covered for activities undertaken from the 1st June 2016 (or date of College Membership if later).
The College of Paramedics provides student members with Medical Malpractice and Public Liability insurance as a benefit of membership to a limit of £5,000,000. This provides cover to students whilst undertaking elective placements as part of their paramedic training education.
The cover is on a worldwide basis (excluding U.S.A. and Canada, but includes Public Liability insurance relating to observational only electives in these territories), provided they are under the supervision of a qualified paramedic or a registered healthcare professional (or equivalent).
Claims arising from Good Samaritan Acts are also included. This cover only applies when students are not entitled to insurance or indemnity arrangements provided elsewhere.
Important Message – Run-off Cover
Members should be aware that when cancelling or terminating College membership, entitlement to the Block Insurance Scheme will also be terminated from the same date. If termination is due to retirement, free Run-off cover is available under the Block policy for retired members, provided they notify the College and complete a 'Declaration of Retirement' document. It will not be necessary in such circumstances for College membership to continue.
In all other circumstances, if members require ongoing cover to deal with claims which may arise from previous activities, then membership of the College must be maintained unless members are satisfied they have alternative Retroactive cover elsewhere. The College do not accept any liability for members failing to ensure they have the appropriate insurance in place for these or other circumstances.
In summary, the College purchase block insurance only for current members, but run-off provision has been made in respect of those members retiring from practice free of charge provided the College have been notified of their retirement. Otherwise members will not be insured under the Scheme for any previous activities if they are no longer members at the date of claim.
Please see related downloads for more information and review the James Hallam website www.jameshallam.co.uk/promed/college-of-paramedics for full details of the policy terms and conditions.
HCPC Registration
Since 1st April, 2015 HCPC require all paramedics to:
- Confirm they have appropriate Professional Indemnity/Insurance in place before commencing practice or
- If members are not practicing at that time, they understand the indemnity requirements and will have arrangements in place prior to the start of practice
Paramedics practicing as employees in the United Kingdom should have access to some form of Medical Professional Indemnity cover through their employer. Registrants working within the scope of their employment should ensure their employer at the time has appropriate indemnity arrangements in place to cover both themselves and their employees. This applies whether employment is through the Public Health Service or within the private sector.
All employers such as the Ambulance Service Trusts are “vicariously liable” for the negligence of their employees and for any claims arising whilst employees are working within the scope of their employment. It is strongly recommended that members check with their employer that such indemnity is current for the employment proposed or being undertaken. It is also advisable to check with private sector employers their indemnity arrangements where the level of governance may not be as robust as within the NHS and where indemnity is provided by way of commercial insurance rather than State-backed Indemnity arrangements.
Paramedics practicing on their own account or delivering services through their own corporate entity should purchase separate cover.
Other Optional Insurances
Members also have access to specialist insurance products from James Hallam including:
- Medical Malpractice and Public Liability Insurance for members requiring their own individual cover for themselves or organisation
Please see related downloads for more information and review James Hallam's website at www.jameshallam.co.uk/promed/paramedic-insurance/ for full details of the policy terms and conditions.
If you require further information from James Hallam the Scheme Insurance Brokers, simply visit www.jameshallam.co.uk/promed/paramedic-insurance/ or call one of their Professional Advisors on 01245 321185 or email promedschemes@jameshallam.co.uk
The effects of Brexit on your Insurance Coverage
When the transition period ends on the 31st December 2020 UK based insurance brokers are unable to place policies where both the policyholder and the risk to which they are insuring are EU based.
As the College of Paramedics is a UK based entity there are no additional restrictions on our policy, and we can continue to indemnify our members based outside of the UK under our block policy. Members will not however be able to purchase separate insurance policies where they are not UK based, and are providing a service based outside of the UK.
For any queries please refer to our Insurance Brokers – James Hallam Pro Med on 01245 428172 or email Jo.Cochrane@jameshallam.co.uk