Insurance and tax relief
RCOT insurance and tax relief for members
Insurance benefits include malpractice and professional liability and public and products liability insurance up to a new limit of £10 million per member.
This covers you for claims first made or filed in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, isle of Man and the European Union, the Channel Islands and Australia. NB The policy does not cover claims first made or suit filed against you in any of the British Overseas Territories. The malpractice and professional liability insurance protects the occupational therapist against a claim for damages brought by a service user if the practitioner has committed a negligent act, error or omission in the course of their occupational therapy work.
Your RCOT membership
As part of your RCOT membership you are covered by liability insurance that covers a variety of risks in respect of occupational therapy work. It is cover for the individual member, whether “employed” or “self-employed”, but not for their employer. The policy does not provide cover for any type of entity whether that is a company or a partnership. If cover is required for any type of entity a separate policy will need to be arranged in the name of that entity. RCOT has contacts who are able to assist in this matter.
The policy is provided on a "claims occurring" policy. i.e. providing the person was a member of BAOT when the claim occurred, they will be covered by the policy. The policy includes “run off” cover for those members who were previously insured under the BAOT insurance - including retired and/or non-practising members - when it was on a “claims made” basis. NB. Members should remember that if they end their subscription their insurance cover will cease automatically. It is essential to notify the insurers via Aon UK Ltd of any potential claim or circumstances that might give rise to a claim as soon as you are aware of them. If you have any doubt as to whether or not an incident should be reported, you can ring the Aon helpline and discuss the matter with an insurance expert.
The RCOT policy
Renewed for the membership year 2024/25
As previously, the underwriters require some special conditions and exclusions to the policy, of which you should be aware These support good practice in the areas of preventing cross infection, record keeping, structural survey work and software management. In addition, there is information relating to the administration of COVID-19 vaccinations to patients attached below. Members are advised to check the insurance documents below.
Aon UK contact details
- Bob Litchfield (bob.litchfield@aon.co.uk) 0116 280 7041 or
- Rainer Tilley (rainer.tilley@aon.co.uk) 0116 280 7552
Downloadable content
Member-only downloads:
BAOT Covid-19 Vaccination Endorsement (PDF, 74.87KB)
Professional Indemnity Insurance briefing 2024-2025 (PDF, 188KB)
Working overseas
Whilst the policy covers BAOT members engaged in occupational therapy work worldwide (excluding the USA and Canada), members working in other territories should check whether there is a legal requirement to arrange local cover. The policy will only respond to claims first made or filed in the European Union, the Channel Islands and Australia and will only pay damages awarded by courts of these countries.
As a consequence of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the various British Overseas Territories (also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories) are also no longer part of the European Union. The insurance policy will not respond to claims first brought or suit filed against the Insured in any of the British Overseas Territories, which are: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha); South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus); and The Turks & Caicos Islands.