H & S Consultant as an approved Profession

Ian Clark

Hi, here is an interesting aspect I was not prepared for. To be a professional and maintain registration we are required to also maintain a level of professional insurance cover. I have received the following message from the company I have used for many years (without a claim, I might add, and this is copied from their email to me)
"Thank you for insuring your business with us in the past. Your policies are due for renewal on 21st June 2021.
We regret to advise that Health & Safety Consultant is no longer an approved profession through GSI Direct and therefore we are unable to provide cover with effect from your renewal date.
This means we are unable for insure you going forward and your policies with GSI Direct will lapse on 21st June 2021."
How would an insurance company not view H & S consultant as "no longer an approved profession"? Has something changed and have we become more than a "Professional" without notification?
I have requested an explanation but no reply has been received to date.

Thoughts and everyone be prepared to check your professional cover.

Rowly Brown

Change your Insurer and go through a Broker , e.g Aon.

MattD2

NZISM have an agreement with an insurer for H&S Consultants. Made the application process much easier and the premiums seemed reasonable from what I was told to expect for PI, etc. insurance.
If you are a member of NZISM it should be at the bottom left of your main page once you log in (would provide more details but waiting for my membership to come back active!).

MattD2

How would an insurance company not view H & S consultant as "no longer an approved profession"? Has something changed and have we become more than a "Professional" without notification? — Ian Clark

It is nothing to do with their view on H&S being a profession or not, it is related to the risk of covering PI for those types of services. I would think that the talk of increased legal liability for those providing H&S advice in Australia might have spooked them.

Ian Clark

Thanks for the comments

Janet Mary Houston

Agree - Aon still offers insurance to H&S professionals

William Atkinson

I am covered with no comment by Farmers Mutual, FMG.
William Atkinson

Chris Peace

GSI Direct is an Auckland-based insurance broker that places cover with underwriters, including Lloyds of London. The word "Direct" in their name is therefore something of a misnomer.
Over an 18-year period I had good experiences with Aon and then with Meridian as brokers. Aon was very good when I notified them of a possible claim (nothing to do with OHS) and that experience reinforced for me why we need professional indemnity cover for possible poor advice. The cover included legal expenses which could easily run to many thousands of dollars.
We also need public liability cover (just in case of damage to property owned by someone else) and statutory liability insurance for legal expenses if prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act or other legislation.
I was paying a total of about $2,500 per year and was assured that this was the minimum premium for the range of work I carried out (OHS was one component of that).
Start with the NZISM broker. They know what OHS practitioners do, in-house and as consultants.

H & S Consultant as an approved Profession

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