Do you have the right insurance cover?

We know, insurance can be tricky to understand. Unfortunately, it’s not as clear as 1’s and 0’s when working out what cover you need to ensure you’re meeting your professional and contractual requirements. At ITPA, we are aware that there is confusion for members between making a choice between purchasing your own individual insurance policy or relying on a master or group policy. Guild Insurance has outlined the key differences below to help you choose the right cover to meet your needs.

Master or Group Policy

A group or master insurance policy covers a group of people under the one policy and has shared limits of liability and benefits. However, this does not mean each insured is provided with equal cover. For example, if a group policy has an indemnity limit of $1 million with 1,000 insureds (members), each insured under that policy is not provided with $,1000 of coverage. Group policies don’t specifically provide any level of cover to individual insureds. Instead, a limit of cover is provided to the group members collectively.

There could be two important implications of a master or group policy if you are required to have a specified limit of public liability and/or professional indemnity in place by an employer or contracting party:

A master or group policy might not meet your employer or contractor’s requirement and you would, therefore, be in breach of your employment or contract terms.

In the event a claim is made against you, there is no guarantee that the policy would have a sufficient limit of cover available to safeguard you. As all the insured’s claims under the master or group policy are paid from the shared limit, there is a risk that the limit is exhausted or insufficient.

Individual Insurance Policy

An individual insurance policy provides cover exclusively for you, the individual or your business. This means the limits of indemnity and sub-limits and policy benefits apply to you and only you.

Having an individual policy could be a great way to be certain you have enough cover in place to protect you and your business and meet your contractual obligations.

It is important that you understand which insurance product suits your own individual circumstances. To talk to a Guild Insurance Specialist about your specific situation, call 1800 810 213, or visit guildinsurance.com.au.

Get 25% off your Individual Insurance Policy

Luckily, as a member of the ITPA you are eligible for a 25% discount on cutting-edge insurance solutions for IT professionals from our insurance partner, Guild Insurance. To qualify for this, you must have a paid membership, which includes our Professional member, Certified Practicing Member and Honorary Life member categories.

What’s more, to celebrate this partnership, Guild Insurance is giving away a $1,000 travel voucher! Enter the competition below for your chance to win.

Win a $1,000 Travel Voucher Competition

Guild Insurance Limited ABN 55 004 538 863, AFS Licence No. 233 791. This article contains information of a general nature only, and is not intended to constitute the provision of legal advice. Terms and conditions apply.

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