Many thanks for sharing this Stella.
It would be fantastic if CILIP could look at again at the whole issue of
professional indemnity as a service to members.
My own experience is that I contacted CILIP about this roughly 4 years ago
when the PCT with whom I had a three year part-time contract required that I
obtain such cover and then set forth on a similar path of enquiry to Stella.
It transpired that none of the insurers which might normally cover
information specialists would cover someone working in the health field,
while none of the medical practitioner insurers covered information
specialists. I did receive a carefully worded letter from one such, who was
very sympathetic (and aware of other health professionals experiencing
difficulties when working for the NHS as contractors).
With changing work patterns this is set to become an issue for more members.
Any chance of CILIP bringing together a small group to talk this through? It
would be useful, too, to know how CILIP covers its own consultancy service -
and perhaps this team could offer some advice?
Sue
Sue Lacey Bryant
NLH Primary Care and Public Health Librarians Support Programme
& Independent Information Specialist
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Mob: 0 777 34 77 55 2
"There are things known, and there are things unknown. And in between are
the doors." Jim Morrison
----- Original Message -----
From: "LIS-CILIP automatic digest system" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2005 12:04 AM
Subject: LIS-CILIP Digest - 6 Jun 2005 to 7 Jun 2005 (#2005-120)
> There is 1 message totalling 76 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
> 1. Professional indemnity insurance
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2005 18:11:31 +0100
> From: Stella Dextre Clarke <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Professional indemnity insurance
>
> This is a summary of responses and follow-up from the enquiry I posted
> on the list some months ago, about professional indemnity insurance.
>
> 1. Everyone agrees it is expensive.=20
>
> 2. All but one of the LIS-CILIP replies pointed to the same insurer,
> once upon a time known as Tolson Messenger; subsequently known as Icon
> Insurance, said to be the cheapest.=20
>
> Icon were good in that they had an online presence and responded
> quickest to my enquiry. But in the end I found it pays off to go to a
> broker who will obtain quotes from several insurance companies. The
> cheapest, for me, was called Saturn Professional Risks.
>
> 3. One of the key decisions is what liability limit to choose. The
> quotes I received ranged from a limit of 100 thousand pounds to two
> million. (And the corresponding annual premiums went from 400 pounds to
> 2000 pounds, not necessarily in that order respectively.)
>
> I asked one of the brokers for some guidance. She suggested that a 250k
> limit is a common minimum, but a guideline could be 2.5 or 3 times your
> annual fee income.
>
> Looking at the S-CAT terms (which apply commonly in the public sector) I
> note that "The aggregate liability of the CONTRACTOR under Clause A10.1
> shall in no event exceed two million pounds (=A32,000,000)" - I take =
> this
> limit to include public liability as well as professional indemnity and
> any other claim they might want to throw at you under the contract. The
> next clause, more reassuringly, says, "The aggregate liability under the
> Assignment Contract of either party for all Defaults (other than a
> Default governed by Clause A9.2.1 or A9.2.2) and under Clause A10.12
> shall in no event exceed the greater of fifty thousand pounds =
> (=A350,000)
> or one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the amount paid and payable
> by the CUSTOMER for the Services."
>
> 4. I found the whole experience pretty stressful. Just deciphering the
> meaning out of the various legal documents is enough to lay you low,
> never mind coughing up the premium - and all under pressure from a
> client who is demanding that a policy be in force, before a contract can
> be signed.
>
> 5. And it doesn't end there. Professional indemnity risks are usually
> covered on a "claims made" basis. In other words, if I commit an act of
> negligence now, and the client presents a claim in 2008, the insurance
> company will not pay up unless I am still paying the annual premium in
> 2008.
>
> 6. And all the time, one wonders what size of claim any of us might
> ever have to face. How would one of my clients estimate the financial
> loss arising from use of a thesaurus that does not quite measure up to
> ISO 2788???
>
> Best of luck to all those following my footsteps, or already ahead of
> me!=20
> Stella
>
> *****************************************************
> Stella Dextre Clarke
> Information Consultant
> Luke House, West Hendred, Wantage, Oxon, OX12 8RR, UK
> Tel: 01235-833-298
> Fax: 01235-863-298
> [log in to unmask]
> *****************************************************
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of LIS-CILIP Digest - 6 Jun 2005 to 7 Jun 2005 (#2005-120)
> **************************************************************
>
>
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