| 1. | Am I covered at work as well as at away from it under the Samaritan act scheme? |
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Yes. Members have their own personal medical insurance against malpractice claims, which will be effective 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
The only time when the cover is not effective is if you are receiving payment for your activities or if, for example, you are employed in a hospital or within the NHS. In these cases your employer will cover you when 'on duty'. However, when you are 'off duty' and/or not receiving payment, the MIR's cover becomes fully effective.
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| 2. | What is the Good Samaritan Act? |
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The expression 'Good Samaritan Act' shall mean treatment administered at the scene of a medical emergency, accident or disaster by the Assured who is present either by chance, or in response to an S.O.S. call following a disaster.
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| 3. | Would I be covered by MIR’s insurance for any skill, procedure or medical protocol not covered by the policy of the employing organisation? |
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Yes, unless the employer at the time of a claim already has a responsibility to insure you (e.g. an NHS Trust). In such cases you would not need ‘double indemnity’ cover. At any other time a member is fully insured by the MIR provided you are not being paid to do the work.
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| 4. | Does the cover apply when I am walking down the street and deal with, for example, a roadside accident? |
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Yes. This is full 'Samaritan Act' cover insurance provided you are not being paid to do the work or you are somewhere by design rather than by chance. If you are being paid or somewhere by design to practice your skills, you will need to enrol under the 'individual Non-Samaritan Act (NSA)' scheme.
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| 5. | What level of qualification would I be covered for and for how many days pa? |
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Under the NSA scheme a member is covered for whatever he or she is certified as competent to perform. Certification needs to be issued by a recognised body and can range from an appointed person to a medical practitioner. There is no limit to days worked.
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| 6. | I am a qualified ambulance technician/paramedic/ALS provider within an NHS Trust and am qualified in advanced interventions such as the administration of salbutamol, aspirin, GTN, Glucagon and adrenaline. Am I covered for these advanced skills? |
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Yes. See question 4. A member is covered for whatever he or she is certified as competent to perform. Cover is effective as long as the member only practices what he or she is qualified to do and does it outside of their NHS environment (i.e. 'off duty').
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| 7. | Does the insurance cover me throughout the world? |
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Yes. (excluding US and Canada) - provided that any case against you is heard under English Law and Jurisdiction.
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| 8. | What benefits, other that the insurance, would a member enjoy? |
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Members receive their own personal on-line copy of the MIR's newsletter "MIR NEWS" and are kept up-to-date with what is happening within the 'immediate care' world. The publication includes information on new techniques and products, HSE/EMAS directives, ERC/AHA protocols etc., as well as current news from around the world.
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| 9. | I am a first aid teacher or instructor. Can you insure me? |
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Yes. BUT please note that this cover is not available under the Samaritan act scheme. It is not an alternative to you or your training company taking out full medical malpractice cover. If you are a training organisation you will need to download a Proposal Form from the 'Insurance Cover' page of this site. Fill it in, send it to us and we will quote a premium.
If you are an independent instructor receiving a fee then complete an NSA proposal form available from the "Insurance cover" page.
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| 10. | Can I be covered whilst undergoing training to achieve a qualification? |
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No. We can only cover you once you are certified as competent to perform your skill.
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| 11. | Would a military (Army, Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force) qualification be acceptable for cover? |
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Yes. Provided that your qualification is generally recognised outside the service (CMT, MA etc.) and that, at the time of a claim, you are not already covered by your employer (e.g. an MoD policy).
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| 12. | What benefits are there for the employer? |
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Many! Workplace funded membership can protect an employer against costly malpractice claims aimed directly at them!
By providing cover for your employees you are showing both recognition of their skills and an answer to the regularly asked question from potential company first aiders "What happens if I'm sued?"
Employers who enrol more than fifty members will also enjoy specially discounted subscription rates. This discount is 'on going' in that any members enrolled subsequently will also be able to join at the reduced rate and, where necessary, on a pro-rata fee.
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| 13. | Doesn’t my company’s insurance cover our first aiders? |
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It’s highly unlikely. It is important to bear in mind that whilst a company may have employers' liability insurance etc., this is not usually designed to cover the provision of professional services by their employees.
It certainly would not do so if the company's insurers were not aware of an employee's first aid activities. It will cover the employee but not normally their skill.
It follows therefore that if a claim were made against a company arising from the provision of first aid by one of their employees and they notified their employers' liability insurers, the claim would almost undoubtedly be rejected.
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| 14. | Does the MIR offer cover for an ambulance and its contents? |
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No. This should be available through your local broker. We can however provide 'group' medical malpractice and public liability cover for ambulance services and training organisations etc. See "Insurance cover" page on this site.
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| 15. | Can we obtain employer liability cover through the MIR? |
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Yes. Go to the "Insurance cover" page of this web site and download a questionnaire. Complete it and sent it back to us for a quotation. This only available to those who hold our standard medical malpractice insurance. It does not automatically include 'blue light' or 'high risk' services. If this is required please state so on the questionnaire.
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| 16. | What is an errors and omissions extension? |
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A policy can be extended to indemnify the insured for claims arising out of financial loss to third parties caused by any negligent act, error or omission committed by the insured in or about the conduct of their occupation or business as stated in their Proposal form.
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| 17. | Who is eligible for Directors' & Officers' liability insurance? |
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Most limited liability companies i.e. privately owned or publicly traded companies or charities or trade associations or other 'not for profit' entities. Our policy wording provides broad cover. The key features of the cover can be viewed here.
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