Malpractice insurance for counsellors

Yes. All new policies sold online and renewals can be paid for by Debit and Credit Card. Some policies have an option to pay by finance which is offered via Close Brothers Premium Finance. 

Whilst not offered online, some Insurers may also offer a direct debit. Please contact us if you wish to learn of different methods of payment and whether Direct Debit is offered.

We make individual client administration charges per policy (up to a maximum of 3 policies, per policy period) to cover the costs associated with administering your insurances e.g. arranging a new policy, carrying out short-period or mid-term cancellations, mid-term changes, providing replacement or duplicate documents and for other administrative tasks. We will advise you of the amount of fee before you become liable to pay it. Individual charges will not be made in relation to employee benefit related products.

Our portal provides 24/7 access to your account and policy documents.

The portal enables us to be more environmentally friendly as we reduce the amount of printed policies and adopt a digital approach.

To access your documents, simply log into your Account, click on "Your Policies" and then select the "View" button  on the policy. From here you can download the document if needed.

Please note that under your account, there is a button titled "Documents". This button is for uploading documents and not for accessing your policy documents.

Log-in to the portal.

Yes. You can manage your policy renewal online. We will inform you by email within 28 days before your renewal date and upload all your renewal documentation onto the portal for you to review.

If you have not heard from us prior to the renewal, please check your documentation carefully in case there has been a change to your circumstances to prevent accidental underinsurance or a gap in cover.  

You can also make payment online for your renewal by card and where applicable by Premium Finance or Direct Debit. If you had paid your previous years policy by Direct Debit, please contact us as it is not uncommon for renewals on Direct Debits to renew automatically.

Please don't assume your policy has been renewed until you have received confirmation in from us. 

If you are concerned about your policy, please call us prior to the date of renewal and one of our Team will be happy assist you.

Unfortunately you can not make changes online. If you need to make any changes to your policy please contact us on 0333 0609 687.

Any cancellation will also need to be handled offline. Please note that all policies are contracts and there may be stipulations that could affect any refund amount due. Such examples include:

• Any claims made within the period of insurance (excluding claims made in previous years unless made under Professional Indemnity or claims that have been settled as non fault or where the claim has been settled with no payment being made)
• The Insurers terms and conditions stated within the Policy Wording states that any cancellation in cover are non refundable. 
• Some Insurers may place a condition that if a refund is below a set amount, there will be no refund due to processing fees.

Should you wish to discuss this in more detail or to check if any of the above applies to your policy, please contact us and one of our Team will advise you accordingly.

The knowledge that experienced claims professionals will support you is just as important as the policy cover.

Our dedicated in-house claims team will be by your side, fighting your corner from start to finish. We promise to be there when it matters most.

Make a claim.

Alternatively you can call us on 0330 818 7677, and speak to our team of experts who will be on hand to provide the best solution and guide you through the next steps.

• Aromatherapy
• Art therapy
• Bowen Technique
• Business coaching
• Business executive coaching
• CBT
• Coaching
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Counselling
• Cupping
• Dyslexia coaching
• Education consultancy school inspections
• Equine assisted therapy
• Health and lifestyle training
• Homoeopathy
• Hypnotherapy
• Life Coaching
• Management consultancy
• Massage
• Mediation
• Mentoring
• Music therapy
• Naturopathy
• NLP
• Nutritional therapy
• Pilates
• Psychology
• Psychotherapy
• Reflexology
• Reiki
• Some alternative therapies
• Spiritual counselling
• Sports massage
• Stress management
• Thai Chi.

Legally, you must have employers liability cover in place from the day your practice starts employing staff. There is limited exceptions to this, for example if you only employ immediate family members (see: www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance). Whether paid or not, you are at risk of legal action from the moment you have any person for whom you are responsible. Even if you employ family members, having employers liability insurance is typically still recommended to help protect you.

Therapists, wellbeing practitioners and wellbeing counsellors require insurance to protect them against the risks they face whilst delivering their services. Insurance can cover the cost of defending claims of poor advice, malpractice, negligence, injury or property damage in relation to services provided to clients during their sessions. They may require specific insurances to meet the membership requirements of their professional body or other contractual agreements with businesses they work with.

Your circumstances and business activities will dictate the insurance you require. This generally includes public and products liability, professional indemnity insurance as a minimum, and employers liability insurance should you employ others. Your insurance broker might recommend further cover based on your individual needs, such as management liability portfolio, cyber insurance, and cover for contents such as computer equipment.

We provide discounts for members of the following professional bodies:

• ABP – The Association for Business Psychology
• AC – The Association for Coaching
• ACC – The Association of Christian Counsellors
• ACP – The Association of Child Psychotherapists
• APHP – The Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy
• Barefoot Coaching
• BACP – British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
• BABCP - British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies
• BPC – British Psychoanalytic Council
• BPS – British Psychological Society
• CPD – Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
• CMC – Civil Mediation Council
• CNHC – Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council
• CoM – College of Mediators
• COSCA – Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland
• CORST – College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists
• EMCC – European Mentoring and Coaching Council
• FMA – The Family Mediators Association 
• GHR – General Hypnotherapy Register
• HCPC – Health & Care Professions Council
• ICF – International Coach Federation
• NCH – The National Council for Hypnotherapy
• NCS – The National Counselling Society
• PTUK – Play Therapy United Kingdom
• UKATA – The Association for Transactional Analysis
• UKCP – The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy.

A "To Whom It May Concern" certificate of insurance is a document that provides proof of insurance coverage to a third party. This type of certificate is often requested by individuals or organisations that need verification of a business's insurance policies, typically for purposes such as contracts, leases, or compliance with regulations. 

It is important to note that a certificate of insurance is not a contract and does not alter the terms of the insurance policy. It merely serves as evidence of coverage and does not guarantee that a claim will be paid.

The TWIMC Certificates have to be manually generated and in adherence with the levels of cover that you have purchased and are available upon request. Should you wish to receive a TWIMC, please contact us on 0333 0609 687.

Any business that has employees, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary, is required to have employers' liability insurance. It provides coverage for claims made by employees who suffer injury or illness as a result of their work.

In the UK, it is a legal requirement and mandated by the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.

While self-employed individuals without employees do not need this insurance, those who hire subcontractors or have staff must obtain it.

If a business has volunteers or family members helping out without formal employment, they may not be covered under the employers liability insurance, but it could be wise to consider coverage for them as well.

Any people who are under the Care, Control, Instruction or Supervision of an Oxygen client would need to have Employers Liability Cover.

Your Sum Insured will normally be the gross amount covered under a particular section of cover such as Contents. Where the cover is Liability, you will find the Sum Insured is replaced with an Indemnity Limit. The indemnity limit is the maximum amount you can claim under the insurance during the annual period of cover. It is important to understand that Insurers will cover you either for Any Claims Made or on Aggregate. Any Claims Made will mean that you are insured up to the indemnity limit and you can make as many claims as long as they do not exceed that limit. Aggregate on the other hand is where this limit is reduced each time a claim is made.

For example you if you hold £1,000,000 cover and have it on Any Claims Made basis, you can claim as many times as you need as long as the claim does not exceed £1,000,000. If you were to have it on an Aggregate basis and were to make a  £750,000 claim, you would only have £250,000 cover left.

Should you wish to discuss this in more detail or to check if any of the above applies to your policy, please contact us on 0333 0609 687.

The policy includes legal defence following a complaint or claim made against you, optional legal expenses cover is available for you to pursue legal matters for yourself e.g. Tax disputes, Contract disputes but this type of cover is an optional cover and not included as standard.

Worldwide cover excluding USA & Canada jurisdiction and clients living in Trade sanctioned countries with the UK.

Should you have any further enquiries, call an one of our dedicated team experts now on 0333 0609 687.