Why do counsellors need insurance?
What cover is included in insurance for counsellors?
Professional treatment liability insurance and public liability insurance can be helpful for counsellors. So, we have combined them into one product – professional, treatment and public liability insurance.
Though we talk about them separately below, professional, treatment and public liability insurance is a combined cover with one combined limit. You can get public liability cover as a counsellor by purchasing this combined cover.
Contact us to find out more about how the combined product works, and to ask any other insurance questions.
Counselling firms come in all shapes and sizes, so some organisations may require additional cover. If you hire other counsellors, employers’ liability insurance could be necessary, while personal accident and cyber cover can assist if the unforeseen strikes too.
If you’re not sure what you need, tell us a little more about your work as a counsellor. We’ll help you to build your quote and explore any other insurance needs.
Build my coverInsurance for counsellors: FAQs
Do I need counsellor insurance if I conduct my sessions online?
Insurance is still an important consideration for counsellors who operate online since the work is similar to face-to-face counselling – your words can still lead to claims.
As a counsellor, you may make it a point of policy to never give advice, but even so, your discussions could cause harm. There’s also a chance you could accidentally breach confidentiality rules – so professional, treatment and public liability insurance could be an important cover to have.
When your main communication channels become digital, cyber insurance could also help to protect your counselling business from risks associated with sensitive data falling into the wrong hands.
Explore the home-based insurance you might need to consider, to protect a remote business from the risks of residential working, including damage and theft.
Does Hiscox offer medical malpractice insurance for counsellors?
Counselling malpractice claims are covered as part of our combined professional, treatment and public liability insurance for health, beauty and wellness businesses.
In practice, this product covers a counsellor in many of the same ways as medical malpractice cover, including for malpractice, negligence, breach of duty of care and breach of confidentiality.
This means that, if you are accused of causing mental harm due to malpractice, professional treatment liability insurance for counsellors has you covered.
What’s the difference between a counsellor and psychotherapist?
Counsellors and psychotherapists are both types of talking therapists, but focus can differ. Counsellors may explore life events such as bereavement and job uncertainty, for instance, whereas psychotherapists might focus on longer-term issues such as addiction.
The fields overlap considerably, however. Many professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), crossover.
This means, although the training routes for counsellors and therapists are slightly different, many professional risks are similar.
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