Automatic Professional Indemnity Insurance cover for each member.

From the date of joining, your membership will give you automatic cover on our Indemnity Insurance Policy which is a vital requirement for any professional in an ever increasing litigious society.

Your Indemnity Insurance

In today's litigious society, with increased levels of public awareness and legal aid available, the number of actions brought against professionals is rapidly increasing. Many claims are without foundation, but even so, the cost of defending claims can prove to be both expensive and time consuming. Through payment of a group premium on behalf of our current nurse members, the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation provides each member with automatic indemnity insurance cover to the value of 1.5 million for any one claim and 0.5million for all subsequent claims in any one year. Your indemnity insurance covers legal liability for claims which may be made against you for any alleged breach of professional duty through your actions, errors or omissions in providing nursing care to individual patients in your designated nursing role. Under the conditions of the insurance policy the underwriters are entitled to immediate written knowledge of any claims made against our members. Failure to give immediate notification of a possible claim could result in their disputing the claim on the basis of non-disclosure. Therefore the date of the notification of a claim, or potential claim, is very important in order to comply with conditions of the policy.

Geographical Cover

The Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisations Policy covers all our current members performing duties in the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Extended Role Duties

Nurses as professionals should always ensure that they are engaging in tasks which they feel clinically competent to perform. Moreover these tasks, especially when they are in the broad area of extended duties, should be covered in agreed written protocols with the employer. The law moves slower than the evolution of nursing practice so nurses cannot assume that they can undertake new and expanded roles without any structure or framework being agreed with the employer on such developments. Our insurance underwriters are willing to provide coverage for various extended role duties but only under the following conditions

• warranted that nurses work within their code of practice and their employers have a protocol to this effect
• warranted that nurses are at all times working within the scope of their specific training and capability.

Therefore in the event of a claim the existence of an agreed written protocol would be very influential.

Our advice to any member who finds themselves engaged in extended duties is to seek the early assistance of the Organisation in securing the production of clear and concise protocols pertaining to the local workplace.

IN THE EVENT OF A POSSIBLE CLAIM

Any member or members who receive notification of a possible claim from a third party, or anyone acting on behalf of a third party, should be aware that it is a CONDITION PRECEDENT that the insurers be given notice of any claim as soon as possible and therefore it is vital to contact your IRO immediately.

The industrial relations officer will immediately notify the Insurance Brokers who may appoint a solicitor to take up the matter on their behalf. You will be advised on how to respond to the claim and what to do next or, if necessary, the appointed solicitor will respond directly to the third party on your behalf.