Business Insurance Guide for Healthcare Professionals
SmartWork maintains business insurance arrangements to support workers undertaking assignments through our services. These arrangements may include Employers’ Liability, Public Liability, Professional Indemnity and Medical Malpractice cover.
SmartWork’s insurance supports assignments arranged through SmartWork, but it is not personal medical malpractice insurance for individual workers. The cover available depends on the work being carried out and the policy terms, conditions, exclusions and limits.
Medical Insurance Guidance for Healthcare Professionals
This guidance applies to healthcare professionals undertaking clinical work through SmartWork. Insurance and indemnity requirements depend on the worker’s profession, scope of practice, whether the work is NHS, private or mixed, the clinical services provided, regulatory requirements and the assignment or client requirements.
NHS-Only Clinical Work
If you work only for the NHS and the relevant NHS or state-backed indemnity scheme applies, that scheme may respond instead of SmartWork’s Medical Malpractice Policy. This does not automatically mean you never need your own cover. The requirement depends on your profession, role, work setting and the indemnity scheme that applies.
Independently run GP surgeries are not treated as NHS-only work for SmartWork policy purposes. If your work falls outside NHS or state-backed indemnity arrangements, you may need separate insurance, medical defence organisation membership or other approved cover.
Professional Registration and Individual Cover
Healthcare professionals must ensure they have the registration, licence, professional membership, and insurance or indemnity cover required for their role. This may include registration with the GMC, GDC, NMC or an equivalent organisation.
In simple terms, most non-nurse healthcare professionals working through SmartWork must have their own professional medical negligence, indemnity or equivalent cover where the policy requires it. This is because SmartWork’s Medical Malpractice Policy is not personal cover for the worker. The policy endorsement says this own-cover condition does not apply to nurses, whether they are placed into the NHS or private sector. Nurses must still keep their professional registration up to date and meet any role, client or regulatory requirements.
Private, Non-NHS and Mixed Clinical Work
If you do private, non-NHS or mixed NHS/private clinical work, do not assume that NHS indemnity applies to everything you do. You may need your own professional indemnity, medical malpractice insurance, medical defence organisation membership or equivalent cover.
Providing Evidence to SmartWork
Where individual insurance or indemnity cover is required, the worker must provide relevant documentation to SmartWork for review. This may include an insurance certificate, policy schedule, policy wording, confirmation of professional indemnity, evidence of professional defence organisation membership or other documentation requested by SmartWork.
Providing evidence does not automatically mean that SmartWork has confirmed the cover is sufficient. SmartWork will review the documentation against the requirements for the role and assignment and may request further information as needed.
SmartWork Medical Malpractice Policy
SmartWork maintains a Medical Malpractice Policy for work arranged through SmartWork. Where the policy requires the worker to have their own cover, SmartWork’s policy assumes this separate cover is already in place.
If required individual cover is not in place, SmartWork’s policy should not be treated as a replacement. Cover may not apply, depending on the role and the policy terms.
SmartWork’s policy mainly protects SmartWork where SmartWork may be legally responsible for someone it introduced, recruited or supplied. It should not be described as direct personal malpractice insurance for the worker.
Specific Policy Limitations
The policy excludes claims or circumstances arising from or relating to pre-natal, maternity and/or obstetric services. It also applies a specific sub-limit for claims or circumstances arising from or relating to telephone triage, 111 services, urgent walk-in and/or A&E care and out-of-hours services. Workers should check assignment requirements before starting any work that may fall within these areas.
The policy also contains exclusions and conditions that may affect cover, including but not limited to other insurance or indemnity arrangements, direct claims against certain medical practitioners, dentists or midwives, registration and licensing requirements, notification requirements and territorial or jurisdictional limits.
Changes, Expiry or Cancellation of Cover
Workers must notify SmartWork promptly if there is a material change to their professional registration, licence to practise, professional membership, scope of practice, clinical services, insurance, indemnity arrangements or assignment type. Workers must also notify SmartWork if any required insurance or indemnity arrangement expires, is cancelled, is suspended, materially changes or no longer covers the work being undertaken.
Working Overseas – Business Insurance Requirements
If you undertake work overseas, you are responsible for ensuring that you have appropriate insurance arrangements for the country in which you will be working and for the activities you will undertake. Standard holiday or personal travel insurance may not provide cover for work-related activities.
Depending on the assignment, you may need to consider cover for business equipment, business travel, work-related activities, emergency medical treatment and repatriation. You must inform SmartWork before undertaking overseas work and provide evidence of insurance or other relevant documentation where requested. You must also check overseas work against the jurisdiction and territorial limits shown in the relevant policy schedule before work begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need my own medical malpractice insurance if I work exclusively for the NHS?
Not necessarily. Where your work is carried out exclusively for the NHS and the applicable NHS, state-backed or equivalent indemnity arrangements apply, those arrangements may apply instead of SmartWork’s Medical Malpractice Policy. You should still ensure that your role, setting and professional requirements have been checked before assuming that no separate cover is required.
Does NHS indemnity cover private or GP surgery work?
You should not assume that it does. NHS indemnity arrangements apply to eligible NHS services and activities. Private or other non-NHS work may fall outside those arrangements, and independently run GP surgeries are not treated as NHS-only work for SmartWork policy purposes.
Do I need to send my insurance documents to SmartWork?
Yes, where individual cover, medical defence organisation membership or equivalent indemnity is required. SmartWork will review the documentation against your profession, scope of practice, services and assignment requirements. Providing documents does not automatically mean that cover has been accepted as sufficient.
Are nurses required to hold their own professional medical negligence cover?
No. The policy endorsement says the own-cover condition does not apply to nurses, whether they are placed into the NHS or private sector. Nurses must still keep their professional registration up to date and meet any role, client or regulatory requirements.
What if my circumstances or cover change?
You must notify SmartWork if there is a relevant change to your registration, licence, professional membership, scope of practice, insurance, indemnity arrangements or the type of clinical work you undertake. SmartWork may require updated evidence where your circumstances change.