Doctor's Medical Indemnity Insurance - Tego

Medical Indemnity Insurance

Specialisations

Tego prides itself on covering over 60 specialisations, from anaesthesia to oncology, paediatrics to psychiatry.

When things can go wrong, you need to know that you have the best possible medical indemnity cover. Tego’s medical indemnity insurance comes with features that offer more security and value. With premiums priced to your personal risk profile and coverage for Medicare and tax audits to privacy breaches and patient complaints, we have you covered.

We insure the following

Under the Australian National Law, all practising medical practitioners must be insured or otherwise indemnified for their entire scope of practice, whether via their employer’s indemnity arrangements or through their own medical indemnity insurer. This means it is mandatory for all doctors in private practice to have their own personal medical indemnity insurance. It is also a requirement for registration with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA).

If your insurance or indemnity arrangements specifically exclude any aspect of practice you must not practise in that area. If you discover you do not have appropriate medical indemnity insurance arrangements in place, you are obliged to notify the Medical Board of this within 7 days.

Not all policies are the same, and not all premiums are the same. Further, just because you have been with one insurer for a long time does not mean they are necessarily the best insurer for you.

All medical indemnity insurance policies cover personal liabilities that might arise out of your provision of healthcare (including legal costs) by way of civil claims (that is, claims in medical negligence), and to a more variable extent, non-civil claims (such as coronial inquests, professional or disciplinary investigations, employment disputes – namely, anything other than requests for compensation).

Medical indemnity insurance in Australia typically provide $20 million cover, however different policies apply different sub-limits to non-civil claims – meaning that specific cover will vary between policies. Some policies, not all, also include cover for exposures such as costs towards protecting your reputation (eg. in the event of adverse social media) and pursuing or defending defamation claims, Medicare audits, tax audits, employment disputes, as well as cover for statutory penalties (such as privacy breaches) and loss of income if you are required to attend court.

Be aware that some policies impose excesses/deductibles in certain circumstances which must be paid if assistance is required under your policy. Some medical indemnity insurers cover the treatment of public hospital patients if you are not otherwise indemnified. If you provide any medical services overseas, even in the form or teaching or lecturing, you should check with your insurer if you are covered.

Medical indemnity insurance in Australia is provided on a ‘claims made’ basis, which means you are required to notify your insurer as soon as you become aware of a claim (or of circumstances which a reasonable person would expect may result in a claim). Any claims made under one policy will continue to be covered by that policy even if you switch insurers.

It is also a requirement that your insurance includes adequate retroactive cover for all prior practice in Australia, so it is important you check the retroactive date under your policy (also known as “tail cover”).

Premiums are generally assessed by the doctor’s state of practice, specialisation, claims history and billings band. Not all medical indemnity insurers adopt the same pricing approach and some will specifically assess your premium in accordance with your individual risk profile including actual gross private billings and sub-specialty areas. Some insurers require you to report any increase in income during a policy period (particularly those that adopt a billing band method) and reserve the right to seek additional premium retrospectively.

Some insurers offer significant discounts to reward compliance with certain accreditation standards or to assist doctors who are new to private practice. Given the differences in premiums and policies, you may wish to engage an insurance broker who can offer independent advice as to which product is best for you. If you find an insurer that better suits your needs it is possible to switch and your broker can advise you on this also. Your choice of medical indemnity insurance may potentially impact your livelihood, reputation, and savings, so it is in your best interests to investigate your options and find the best policy that suits your individual needs.

Request a quote

Call 1300 834 683 or request a quote, and one of our representatives will be in touch.

What our customers are saying

David Moore, Obstetrician, Gynaecologist & Fertility Specialist

Being a FRANZCOG doesn’t necessarily mean 100% of my billings comes from the high-risk practice of obstetrics; I work also in gynaecology and fertility, both of which represent a lower claims risk to me and my indemnity provider. Tego offered something no other provider did (and I asked all of them!): they tailored my indemnity policy to my actual practice. Not only was Tego’s policy equal to the best policies on the market in terms of cover and facilities, it was significantly more affordable; more importantly, it was reflective of my actual practice.

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David Moore, Obstetrician, Gynaecologist & Fertility Specialist

Dr. Benjamin Olesnicky Anaesthetist

The cover with Tego was more comprehensive than my existing insurer and I was pleasantly surprised to see some great savings on my premium. As a doctor passionate about patient safety and research, it’s great to see Tego support some of the projects we are running at the Northern Sydney Anaesthesia Research Institute (NSARI). Tego are attentive and treat me like an individual – not just a policy holder.

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Dr. Benjamin Olesnicky Anaesthetist

Dr Alina Zeldovich, Ophthalmologist & Co-Founder Beamers

I was very impressed with the way Tego’s underwriters assessed me on my individual merits. Once I compared the cover with my existing insurer, I realised that Tego was offering broader cover at a more competitive premium. It was an easy switch and I have been really happy with their service.

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Dr Alina Zeldovich, Ophthalmologist & Co-Founder Beamers

Dr. Johnny Levy Medical Director, Primary Health Care Limited

I have found the legal advice – on a range of issues – given by Tego to be very useful. All interactions have been timely, friendly and have answered my questions fully.

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Dr. Johnny Levy Medical Director, Primary Health Care Limited