Defence Unions provide cover on a Claims Occurred basis, with the premise being that you pay for an agreement that covers you for all the work you undertake in the coming year. This agreement then remains in place indefinitely, potentially covering you for any claims that may arise from the work undertaken during this period. The following year you would then purchase another agreement to cover you for that year’s work. As each year passes, you add more and more individual policies, covering a greater period of time.
For this example, let’s assume the consultant has been with a Defence Union for 3 years on a Claims Occurred basis and as such has 3 agreements in place, starting on the 01/01/2019, 01/01/2020 and 01/01/2021 covering the past 3 years’ work.
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
A medical indemnity insurance policy provided on a Claims Made basis works on the premise of a single policy covering you for a period of time, made up of your coming year’s work as well as covering a period of historic work (known as retrospective or retroactive cover) if required. Each year when the policy is renewed, the period of work covered grows, ensuring that both your historic and current work is indemnified.
In this example, the new Claims Made insurance policy is put in place to cover the coming year’s work, starting on 01/01/2022 and ending on 31/12/2022. The historic work is covered by the Claims Occurred agreements with the Defence Unions.
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
Claims Occurred agreement provided by Defence Union
Cover for the coming years work with PRIMUS
The following year the insurance policy with Primus is renewed, with the new policy starting on 01/01/2023 and expiring on 31/12/2023. This indemnifies you for the coming year’s work, as well as providing retroactive cover from 01/01/2022 for any claims arising from work undertaken in the previous year. The Defence Union agreements in place prior to 01/01/2022 remain in place, providing historic cover for this period.
Claims Occurred agreement with Defence Union
Claims Occurred agreement with Defence Union
Retroactive cover for historic work with PRIMUS
Cover for the coming years work with PRIMUS
The following year the insurance policy with Primus is renewed again, with the new policy starting on 01/01/2024 and expiring on 31/12/2024. This indemnifies you for the coming year’s work, as well as providing retroactive cover from 01/01/2022 for any claims arising from work undertaken in the previous two years. The Defence Union agreements in place prior to 01/01/2022 remain in place, providing historic cover for this period.
Claims Occurred areement with Defence Union
Retroactive cover for historic work with PRIMUS
Retroactive cover for historic work with PRIMUS
Cover for the coming years work with PRIMUS
As the consultant renews his insurance policy, the period it covers will continue to grow. When the consultant retires, the “run off cover” or “tail cover” element of the policy starts, providing cover against any claims that may arise during your retirement. For the policies offered by Primus there is no cost for run off cover and it will cover you for a minimum of 21 years into retirement.
If you are at all unsure about the basis on which your current cover is provided please speak to your current provider and request that they confirm it in writing.
