What Does Counsellors’ Insurance Cover?
With just over a million people accessing NHS mental health services out of the 1.46 million referred, 30% of people needing psychotherapy in the UK can’t access it. This makes private therapy and counseling a vital part of our medical infrastructure.
Regardless of your area of specialism in talking therapy, your services will always be required. However, it’s not always easy to choose the right policy when it comes to counselors’ insurance – significantly if you’re expanding your business or just starting out.
In this guide, we’ll cover some of the essential areas of your work that must be covered by insurance to protect your career.
Confidentiality
If you’re running a private therapy service, you’ll know that protecting patient confidentiality is pivotal to developing and strengthening your career and reputation. Insurance should contain a clause aimed at helping you to protect patient data.
Just one breach of data could expose private information about hundreds of patients – or even more. In the worst-case scenario, the damage, bad press, and fallout would be irreversible.
Due to the sensitive nature of individual patient notes, it’s crucial that you store them securely and that they’re protected should anything happen to you or your patient.
Professional indemnity
An accusation of malpractice can be incredibly detrimental to any counselor or therapist, so being able to defend your practice and reputation is essential.
Obtaining comprehensive counsellors’ insurance means that you’ll have an experienced team on your side should any accusations suddenly arise or escalate, defending your business and protecting the longevity of your professional career.
Therapeutic wills
If anything should result in the unfortunate circumstance of your death, you’ll want the peace of mind that your practice is properly taken care of or closed down in the right way.
You should be able to guarantee that this pivotal aspect will be covered through the right insurance policy. A therapeutic will is important primarily to protect the confidentiality and welfare of your clients, something about which you should care deeply as a therapist.
A therapeutic will also cover administrative and financial matters along with this clinical responsibility. These might include erasing confidential files containing sensitive client information like mobile phone numbers and addresses.
What does counselors insurance cover: cyber insurance
From virtually signed documents to appointment details and notes, if your online patient database is compromised, the consequences on your business could be catastrophic. Protection against hacking and cybercrime is usually optional on insurance policies, but it’s a well-worth investment – especially if you store confidential files digitally.
Overall, ensuring that counselors’ insurance covers you is crucial to carrying out your services in full confidence.
