FAQs - ABT Insurance
Can I go back to work now? Whilst we accept that certain businesses in the medical services industries (such as dental surgeries, opticians and audiology clinics, physiotherapy clinics, chiropody and podiatry clinics, and other professional vocational medical services) may have already reopened, we strongly advise ABT members not to reopen until 29th June. There is room for ambiguity in many treatments, and as such we have adopted the blanket position that face to face treatments should not be performed until 29th June at the very earliest, dependent upon government advice. Beauty salons and hairdressers have been placed in Phase 3 of lifting of the public health restrictions which comes into action on Monday 20th July. It should be noted that this roadmap is subject to change and will only come into effect when the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) agrees that the conditions are right following successful Phases 1-2.
Has my insurance been frozen while I have been unable to work? The answer is unfortunately not. ABT Membership and Insurance is for a ‘fixed term’ which means it cannot be extended or frozen. The insurance will continue to run and provide protection against claims, made in the situations where your policy is currently limited and valid for as mentioned before, virtual treatments, online consultations, tutorials for clients / occasional ‘teaching’ and demonstrations which can all be done within the guidelines of social distancing, or provide protection against claims which may still arise even if you are closed during this unfortunate situation. Therefore, as a gesture of good will we have put into place the 3 months free insurance offer, available as a one off to our members until September 2021. Once the code has been released all our members can take advantage online at the point of renewal.
Does my insurance, under normal trading circumstances, allow me to bulk buy nails, add nail art to them and sell them on to a customer as a painted set. I’m planning on supplying instructions on application and removal. This is covered under Product Liability – and as such retailing of Products to non-treatment based clients and has a maximum €30k turnover. Providing that you are only retailing the “Press on nail” kits to your clients to apply themselves at home and providing the packs of nails come with clear written instructions on how to apply and remove them, this would be acceptable for insurance purposes. You would not be insured to ‘teach’ your clients how to apply and remove the false nails, you are simply selling the product to them as you would any other retail item e.g. a nail polish, cleanser etc. The above applies to other products ‘retailed’ and not used in conjunction with a treatment. Full policy details should be checked and relevant qualifications held.
My insurance is due for renewal, but I am not working You should consider, what does your policy provide you cover for? If the policy is for Professional Liability, Public & Product Liability Insurance which all ABT policies are, and you are still providing advice, treatment, therapies or instruction to any clients, even virtually (via online platforms such as zoom etc) then, you will still have the need to protect you and your business for breach of your professional duty. Legal defence and damage payouts can be costly. If your policies include insurance cover for loss, destruction and/or damage to physical assets that you own and/or are responsible for then, we consider that any suitable policy should remain in force. The likelihood of a fire, flood, theft/vandalism etc still remains. Consider insurance requirements under any contracts you may have entered into for the leasing of equipment and/or property – you may be contractually bound to continue with insurance cover.
This information is advisory only and has been produced to assist members, it’s by no means exhaustive nor a set of rules that must be followed. You do not need to adhere to all the points within to be insured, quite simply – provided you are operating legally in line with Government and local authority guidelines, the policy will respond to allegations of negligence against the policyholder. The information is based upon opinion, expertise and public knowledge as of 1.6.2020; it has not been issued by the Irish Government (www.gov.ie). Please check the government website for the latest updates and ensure that you are complying with government guidance. This information does not constitute legal requirement. ABT do not incur any liability for this information.
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