How Insurance works with your membership
When you become an insured member of The Society, your insurance cover starts from the date your payment is received. Your cover remains continuous as long as you are a paid up member. The year is split into four quarters (1st January, 1st April, 1st July, 1st October) for insurance notification purposes. The fee we pay the insurance company on your behalf is that required from the beginning of the quarter in which your application is accepted, and for the remainder of the policy year.
If you are eligible for insured membership, you can take it up at any time during the year. Your fee is calculated individually, depending on which quarter you become insured, and whether you have credit for student membership already paid. For example if you are a student and wish to become insured during the quarter 1st April - 30th June, you would pay three-quarters of the membership fee for the year, less credit for the remainder of the student year.
Information about registering is available on this site. To find out information regarding fees for registering contact Linda Austin on 0845 450 6611.
The Society's insured membership fees are renewed on 1st January each year, but the block insurance policy is renewed with the insurers on 1st April each year. You are automatically issued with a new insurance certificate from 1st April each year, no matter when you join. Your insurance cover is continuous as long as you are a fully paid up member.
Homeopathy is a low-risk therapy. This is an important factor in keeping the insurance premiums low. If your qualifications in another therapy are acceptable to The Society and to our insurers, your policy can be extended to cover an additional low-risk therapy. Download the application form SOH LR1 and return it to Maria Apps at the office.
In some circumstances we are able to offer an exemption for Registered Members, when they can show they have adequate training in the higher risk therapy, are registered with an appropriate body, and have insurance cover acceptable to us. If all these conditions are met, the insurance portion of the membership fee will be waived. Download the application form SOH HR1.
The Society supports insured members involved in a claim or serious complaint. It can be a devastating experience, even if there proves to be no, or little case to answer.
As soon as you are aware of circumstances which may result in a claim, please inform the Professional Conduct Officer immediately. Do not correspond or discuss the matter with the claimant or their representatives pending advice. To do so could possibly jeopardise your insurance cover.
The present scale of fees for Registered Members ranges from £343 - 508 per annum.
You can pay your fees:
A small charge is made for credit card and direct debit payments.
Contact the office on 0845 450 6611 to request a new direct debit form.
Claims Occurrence means that the policy will provide indemnity in respect of any claim that arises as a result of an incident that occurs during the validity of the policy.
Therefore, if you cease practice, temporarily or permanently, you do not need to continue coverage because any incident which occurred whilst you were practising is covered irrespective of when the claim is brought to your attention - eg even if it is after expiry of cover. This is the main advantage of 'Claims Occurrence'.
The alternative to 'claims occurrence' is 'claims made' which is the basis on which most other companies offer insurance to practitioners in our profession. 'Claims made' means the claim must be made during the life of the policy and therefore if you cease to practice you need to continue purchasing insurance for a number of years until you are satisfied reasonable time has elapsed for a claim to have surfaced.
If you are experiencing problems in arranging suitable insurance cover where your practice operates from home, contact Gareth Millard or Stuart Humphrey of 3 Counties Insurance Brokers Ltd. They can also provide motor insurance cover. Contact 0800 731 7829 or by email info@3co.co.uk for advice. Or visit www.3co.co.uk