by Neal Patel, RPS Associate Director of Membership
Our goal when we launched this new and innovative insurance offering was to empower pharmacists to practise at the top of their licence, supporting professional growth and ultimately better patient care. I’d like to say a very big thank you to you, our members, who have not only engaged with the insurance but also - through your feedback- have helped us make it even better.
Why we introduced this cover
I think one of the best examples of why we felt compelled to intervene was the conversation I had with a pharmacist at the beginning of the year, who was keen to take on an advanced role in primary care. This pharmacist had been offered a new job, and the GP practice was keen for her to start immediately. Sadly, what stopped her taking the role was a huge increase in her insurance premium, which made the promotion less attractive. Ultimately, she declined the job.
With RPS Professional Liability Insurance, premiums don’t increase because you expand the scope of your work or take on an advanced role. Cover includes independent prescribing, vaccinations, NHS and private services as standard. We hope this will enable the whole profession to do more for patients.
RPS Professional Liability Insurance Rates
Some people have asked me how such comprehensive cover can offered at these rates. The answer lies in our approach: RPS makes no profit from the policy, we charge members exactly the same amount as it costs us to purchase the policy. Also, our broker, Aon, has partnered with specialist healthcare insurers who assess risk across the whole profession, rather than on an individual basis, allowing for lower premiums. And of course, more participants mean a broader risk pool for our insurer, which is another way we have achieved lower insurance costs for all our members.
Opt-out flexibility
After consulting with our Boards and colleagues we introduced an “opt out” model for the insurance policy, either at renewal or when you join. To support this, we proactively notify Direct Debit payers well in advance of their renewal through multiple channels such as emails, text messages and letters, to advise them of the change and explain their options.
We’ve worked hard to create a comprehensive offer which is appropriate for all our members. But we recognise that pharmacy is diverse, and not everyone fits neatly into the same box. For example, some members, such as those no longer registered with the GPhC, may not require cover. The opt-out option ensures they can continue their membership without insurance, whilst providing flexibility and ease of access for those who do need it. Our opt-out approach also reduces the risk of members unintentionally going uninsured at renewal, offering peace of mind and continuity of cover.
Although we wanted to offer choice, we also wanted members to be able to access our insurance policy without lots of form filling and faff; something many of you told us really puts you off.
Overall, we believe, the ability to “opt out” of insurance offers the best balance of giving members choice whilst still helping the profession access protection. If you decide to opt out, you can always change your mind and add it to your membership at a later date. There is a lot of information about the insurance available to members on our website. We encourage everyone to review this, to ensure the coverage is right for them. If it is then it is pain free to access – there are just a couple of underwriting questions to complete.
Enhancing our insurance offer
We listened to your feedback, and we are actively working to improve the policy so that it addresses your needs. That’s why we’ve extended both the retroactive cover and run-off period to up to 10 years for product liability claims – at no extra cost. This change aligns with the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987 that allows patients to claim for injury from a defective product (e.g. a medicine) up to 10 years after a medicine has been administered.
If you have no idea what “retroactive cover” and a “run-off period” cover are, you’re not alone, so we’ve included an explanation to this and answered many more questions” in our ever-growing insurance FAQ section on the insurance page of our website.
We welcome feedback that can help us improve our offer for the benefit of all our members requiring insurance, initially via [email protected].
To provide even more clarity on insurance we held a webinar with experts from Aon, called "Professional Indemnity: what every pharmacist needs to know". If you would like to watch the recording of this session please click here.
RPS Professional Liability Insurance is arranged by Aon UK Limited and underwritten by certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s led by Carbon Syndicate 4747. Aon UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 00210725. Registered Office: The Aon Centre, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AN. Tel: 020 7623 5500.
The following products or services provided by Aon UK Limited are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority:
- Legal advice and defence services
- Medico legal helpline
FP.CORP.2025.609.GG