Chiropractic Premium FAQs

For 27 years, Guild has had the privilege of serving chiropractors like you by providing support and security so you can confidently do what you do best. We work with your profession to create a product tailored to the needs and demands of the field, coupled with the resources to help you manage risks and minimise claims.

We understand that you may have some questions about your premium increase. We’ve prepared a list of questions and answers below, along with some insights to help reduce the likelihood of future premium increases.

Let’s take a crack at your questions.

1. What does my premium cover?

Once renewed, and in addition to your professional indemnity and public liability cover, you will also benefit from:

• Trauma counselling cover: cover up to $2,500 for any one claim and $5,000 in the aggregate for any one period of insurance as part of the Good Samaritan Act.
• Inquiries and proceedings: cover up to $100,000 for inquiry legal costs. Cover includes National Disability Insurance Scheme inquiries.
• Statutory liability cover: broadened to provide cover for breaches of any Australian law in the provision of professional services.
• Retroactive cover: unlimited coverage for past chiropractic work, including work performed in a prior professional practice, considering you have contacted us to let us know.
• Policy excesses: nil excess for most claims.
• Abuse and/or molestation defence costs: cover up to $75,000 for defence costs and inquiry legal costs to the extent permitted by law.
• Vicarious liability cover: optional cover for the acts, errors, omissions, or conduct of your locum tenens, student practitioners, voluntary workers, agents, consultants, or contractors.
• Court attendance costs: cover up to $25,000 sub-limit, with daily cover limits of $500 for each principal, partner, or director, and $250 for each employee, locum tenens, student practitioner, or voluntary worker.

Please refer to the policy wording and policy schedule for full details.

2. Why are my premiums going up?

Premiums are set based on the projected rate of claims made within the chiropractic profession. These projections are informed by our historical claims experience and are continuously reviewed over time. When we experience increasing numbers of claims or increasing settlement costs, we must increase our premiums to ensure we have an adequate pool of funds to pay claims as they are settled. Sometimes this means that premiums must increase over multiple years.

3. What causes premium increases?

While the rising cost of living continues to contribute to higher premiums, it’s the types of claims we’re seeing and their increasing costs that are driving up premium rates. Other factors include:

• Chiropractors who employ additional practitioners, which increases the likelihood of a claim being made against their policy.
• The transition from 1st year graduate to 2nd year, 2nd year to 3rd year, 3rd year to 4th year, and 4th year to full-time practice employment categories.
• Premium loading due to adverse claims history.

4. How can I help to keep premiums from going up?

You can help reduce the need for future premium increases by exercising the following best practice tips, such as:

• Record keeping: the greater the detail you capture in your clinical records, the stronger your legal defence will be should a claim arise.
• Informed consent: ensure treatment options and associated risks are clearly communicated to patients.
• Appropriate touching: always explain and seek informed consent before hands-on treatment.
• Appropriate conversations: maintain professional communication with your patients at all times.
• Managing difficult chiropractic situations: prepare for challenging scenarios in advance to manage them appropriately.

5. What available options are there to reduce my premium?

There are several options that you can consider to help reduce your premium:

• Join the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) to gain access to member pricing and access to our member-only Risk Managed Offer (RMO) premium discount.
• Review your cover to ensure you’re only paying for what you need.
• Pay your premium by the month, at no extra cost, so you don’t need to pay in one lump sum.

The Guild difference

No one understands your profession better than the people who work in it. Combining our 60 years of experience protecting allied health professionals and our longstanding relationship with the ACA, we work together with your profession to design an insurance product that not only protects you when you need to make a claim but also enhances your career.

Your Guild Insurance policy includes:

• Professional indemnity: covers you for the services you offer as a chiropractor.
• Public liability: cover for property damage or bodily injury that you’re liable for.
• Products liability: cover for property damage or bodily injury caused by the products you’ve sold or supplied.
• Optional run-off cover: free cover for allegations of professional negligence after you’ve stopped practising or have retired. Just call us to let us know.
• 24/7 access to PolicyHub: Guild Insurance’s online policy portal where you can manage your policy anytime, anywhere.
• Free pay-by-the-month: pay in instalments, at no additional cost.
• 100% Australian-owned and operated: with boots on the ground, you can be confident knowing that our team is made up of friendly, local experts who truly understand your professional needs.