Professional Indemnity Insurance
Individual insurance providers differ in their cover so it is important to discuss your particular needs with the particular Insurer when seeking insurance. The following information is offered to inform that conversation.
Professional Indemnity insurance generally covers civil cases (non-criminal), it may not cover criminal suits. This may include whether the case is dismissed, or a verdict of non-guilt is declared. Should a civil case be pursued by a complainant, some aspects of bodily harm (physical, emotional, mental) may be covered by either public liability or professional indemnity, depending on various factors. A discussion with the insurance company would be useful to clarify what and how their policy or policies interpret these, and what specifics affects the financial support offered by the policy.
As with any insurance policy, professional indemnity policies have a “schedule” of options or events which could be covered (generally, 4-5). We have the choice to decide which options apply to our situation, and the number of options we choose does have an effect on the premium cost. Often the rep or company makes those decisions on our behalf from the information we give regarding the activities, nature of our practice.
Spiritual Direction may be grouped in with what the insurance company deems to be similar modalities within a general category. If it is important to you that spiritual direction is recognised as different to other modalities/ministries, you may want to have a conversation with the insurance company to ascertain whether their understanding is acceptable to you.
It may also be as well to ask whether the amount insured for is for each individual who holds the same type of policy or for the group as a whole, e.g. if one case results in compensation of $400,000, and the policy is for $1m, is there $600,000 left to cover any extra cases in that year, or is there $1m available for each individual who holds a policy in that year?
The statute of limitations for a case to be initiated by a directee is 7 years. When retiring or resigning from the ministry, this is another decision to be made, whether or not to continue paying for coverage for 7 years after retiring.