Improving Lives Through Excellence 2016 No. 1

In this issue ...

Dr. Myles Genest

Editor

What we need but hope never to have to use

In this issue of Rapport, we focus on insurance for health ser-

vice psychologists. When I reviewed information provided by

many professional health-care associations and regulatory

bodies, several points stood out for me:

1. Psychologists who are employed should not count on their

employer's insurance to cover their personal liability. In

bringing a suit or complaint against a corporate body or

institution, it is common for a complainant to sue practi-

tioners individually. Even though the employer's insurance

may cover legal costs for a defence, the employer's and

psychologist's interests may not always be aligned.

2. Malpractice claims usually take a long time to settle. It is

not only one's current assets that may be threatened, but

future ones, should a judgement against the psychologist

be rendered.

3. The safety of a psychologist's clients in his or her offices are

the psychologist's responsibility. Slip-and-fall and other

accidents, no matter what the cause, may result in a claim.

4. A psychologist may be "collateral damage" in a civil suit. A

disgruntled client from a complex long-term-disability or

custody-and-access assessment involving numerous pro-

fessionals, for example, may sue not only the firm or insti-

tution responsible for the assessment, but all of the spe-

cialists involved (physiotherapist, social worker, physiatrist,

psychologist, psychiatrist, chiropractor, etc.), even though

only one (or perhaps none) of them was responsible for the

content to which the client objects. Careful, ethical prac-

tice, while the best protection against complaints and suits,

does not guarantee that one will not find oneself at the

wrong (and potentially expensive) end of a civil claim. Even

if no award is granted against the psychologist, legal costs

may still be substantial. The legal defense coverage provid-

ed by professional liability insurance is valuable component

of the overall plan.

5. There is a need to review one's insurance coverage periodi-

cally. What is appropriate and adequate at one time may

not be years later, when average claims and costs may

have escalated, yet people rarely closely examine their

insurance needs and don't usually alter their policies.

6. Along with changes over time, one's psychological practice

may change. Some areas are more prone to risk than oth-

ers. Custody and access assessments and disability-claim

assessments, for example, may place the psychologist at

higher risk than some other areas of practice.

The two articles in this issue of Rapport concern aspects of

insurance coverage that may be less familiar to psycholo-

gists than the liability insurance that we all are required to

carry by our regulatory bodies. Paul Hancock, from McFar-

lan Rowlands, a firm that will be familiar to CRHSP Regis-

trants, describes the risks that are covered by office con-

tents insurance; and Dave Alexander, from Sovereign Gen-

eral Insurance Company, who are the underwriters for the

policy offered to CRHSP Registrants, outlines an endorse-

ment that can be added to our policies in order to protect

from breaches of privacy. Particularly with increasingly

digitized data-bases, psychologists' practices can be subject

to risks that arise outside the practice and the office.

We are also pleased to include in this issue a profile of a

new Registrant, Dr. Becky Churchill Keating, who has ex-

citing practices in both the public and private sectors.

Please continue to submit your English or French papers for future publi-

cations in Rapport to: myles.genest@gmPsychologists.com

PRIVACY & DATA BREACH: BASIC RISK MANAGEMENT FOR THE SOLE PRACTITIONER

Dave Alexander

In the early 1990s, as the internet emerged as a powerful business tool and websites rapidly became active business platforms, insurance companies responded with service interruption and website liability coverage. Larger companies and online businesses sought this cover-age as their reliance on technology, connection to consumers, and to other companies increased. As access and sharing of information es-calated, so did the liability surrounding that information. What was once personal information: driver’s license and social insurance num-bers, credit card information, medical information, kept under lock and key, was now in cyber-space, retrieved and often stored on comput-er systems.

In the early 2000s, California passed the first privacy breach notification legislation in order to protect corporations and consumers alike from privacy and data breach. Other U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions followed.

… Continued on next page

… continued from page 1

In just over a decade, privacy and data-related legislation in North America has proliferated, as government, professional associations and consumers attempt to keep pace with exponential growth in website and technology risks, many of which are interrelated and far from be-ing ‘black & white’ when it comes to mitigating liability.

Over time, the terms cyber and privacy breach have become interchangeable, catch-all words to describe anything involving a computer, website, or data protection error that might shut down a network, compromise sensitive information, and therefore create liability. When evaluating exposure and considering the need for coverage, it is important to understand that cyber coverage and privacy breach coverage are different.

Cyber coverage focuses on technology services and systems, the engine room, so to speak. A cyber policy addresses risks such as network equipment failure; damage caused by computer viruses, or the inadvertent transfer of a virus; system intrusions and cyber extortion. The professional or corporation that buys Cyber coverage is obtaining protection against malfunctions or negligence related to the technology they use while operating their business. At the end of the day, Cyber coverage is essentially about safeguarding that engine room.

Privacy breach coverage protects the professional or corporation in the event that data, especially sensitive data, is compromised or ex-posed. Within privacy breach coverage, there is both third party and first party coverage. The third party coverage focuses on the legal cost

of defending lawsuits and / or regulatory action that arises due to a privacy breach. For in-stance: a case where hacker successfully obtains sensitive personal information from an in-sured’s computer system. The hacking results in a number of consumers bringing a claim against the insured for allowing access to their personal information. A privacy breach policy would provide damages and defense against allegations that the insured did not do enough to protect information, or properly notify the affected individuals. The first party (expense) cov-erage provides for legal expenses associated with regulatory compliance; the cost associated with responding to the breach and notifying the affected parties, as well as the cost associated with identity theft remediation. For instance: a case where a health practitioner has his/ her laptop stolen and patient information is exposed. The first party coverage provides costs asso-

ciated with compliance and notifying the patient(s), crisis management and expenses related to reputational harm. There is also support and consultation available from the insurance company regarding risk management, prevention and computer security.

In addition to knowing the difference between the coverages, it is worthwhile to do some situational risk management, to take a few minutes and do a quick audit of your system(s) and potential exposure. Mid-sized and larger companies gather, process and store data, but they typically have more complex technology and network infrastructure that drive other components of their business, the processing of financial transactions would be one example. In addition, these companies have connections to outside partners, suppliers and client organ-izations, placing them at greater risk for cyber exposure. While they often have solid security measures in place, the amount of data they store makes them susceptible to targeted attacks. Smaller companies and sole practitioners might not store the same amount of data, however they may lack sophisticated policies and security measures and therefore may be targeted based on weak infrastructure, or fall victim to an opportunistic attack. The reality is that the sole practitioner does have privacy and data breach exposure. The gathering and storage of financial and personal information creates that exposure. If you collect it and store it, you become a custodian of it. In addition, the sole practitioner will have less strict data retention policies, and may not be as familiar with the safest ways to store and dispose of da-ta, and in some instances, be unaware they are subject to federal law, or industry compliance regulations.

When evaluating your exposure to a privacy and data breach claim, and pondering affordable and effective protection, consider that Privacy and Data Breach coverage is available to CRHSP members through MacFarlan Rowlands and Sovereign General. The Privacy and Data Breach Endorsement can be added to the existing Malpractice Policy to provide first and third party coverage for a data/privacy breach re-sulting in a compromise of sensitive information. The Endorsement covers costs, such as notification expenses; crisis management (for ex-ample, hiring a public relation consultant); data recovery and investigation expenses; digital asset loss (the cost of recovering or restoring electronic data). The Endorsement also provides access to IDT911, a company partnered with Sovereign General, providing proven expertise in data breach prevention, preparation and notification.

Author

Dave Alexander is AVP, Professional Liability, with Sovereign General Insurance Company

OFFICE CONTENTS INSURANCE: PROTECTING YOUR PRIVATE PRACTICE

Paul Hancock

As you know, the provincial regulators of psychologists not only li-cense psychologists but also require psychologists to purchase Pro-fessional Liability Insurance also known as Malpractice Insurance or Errors and Omissions Insurance. This coverage provides protection to the psychologist against allegations of wrongful actions/behavior related to their practice. However, protecting the psychologist's office contents (eg. Furniture, books, laptops, tablets) is optional and often neglected.

A great many psychologists practice out of their home and assume

that their home insurance would cover this exposure. However, just as the personal liability coverage included in the Homeowners Insur-ance Package doesn't provide malpractice insurance; the homeown-ers insurance usually excludes or provides minimal coverage with respect to any business operations. So while your home insurance includes contents coverage, an office contents policy is also required in order to properly cover your business contents.

To fill this gap in coverage, for those who operate from their home … Continued on next page

… continued from page 2

and for everyone else who has an office outside of their residence, CRHSP registrants have access to an Office Contents policy to protect their business assets.

The CRHSP Office Contents Package attaches to a registrant's Profes-sional/General Liability policy, but unlike the Professional or General Liability coverages, which deal with third party lawsuits, the Office Contents policy covers direct physical loss or damage to a psycholo-gist's business assets. It is similar to a home insurance policy in na-ture, but with added protection for professionals. While coverage to business contents such as furniture, laptops and books after a fire or flood are fairly self explanatory, the policy also covers less tangible exposures associated with a practice such as Business Interruption and Accounts Receivable.

Business interruption is not an exposure usually associated with home ownership, but it does come into play when dealing with a home office (or any business for that matter). For instance, if flood damage to an office makes it unusable, a psychologist may have to temporarily lease space to continue to see clients while their office is being repaired. While the repair to the office is covered under Con-tents, without the ability to continue to see clients during the resto-ration period the insured suffers a further financial loss (not to men-tion could potentially lose some clients altogether). This exposure is picked up by the Office Contents Package under the Business Inter-ruption-Extra Expense coverage. This coverage insures the necessary extra expenses incurred in order to conduct business during the res-toration period following a physical loss to a psychologist's premises.

Accounts Receivable is another coverage that would not typically be included on a Home Owners policy or a Professional Liability policy. This extension covers against direct physical loss or damage to a Psy-chologist's records of accounts receivable. It insures all sums due to the psychologist, from clients, that he or she is unable to collect as a result of the loss or damage to records of accounts receivable. For example, in the event records are destroyed by a fire and the insured cannot accurately establish the total amount of outstanding receiva-bles owing, this extension covers the outstanding receivables, deter-mined by the amount of all outstanding receivables at the end of the

same fiscal month the year previous to the loss. Normal fluctuations are also taken into con-sideration. Accounts Re-ceivable also covers in-terest charges on any loan to offset the im-paired collection of such sums, and excessive col-lection expenses necessi-tated by an insured loss. It is important to remem-ber this coverage is for losses due to physical damage and not bookkeeping, accounting or billing errors.

The Office Contents Package is also extended to cover such expo-sures as; Valuable Papers - physical loss or damage to valuable pa-pers and records during the policy period. This refers to written, printed or otherwise inscribed documents and records, including books and manuscripts; Professional Fees - the insurer will pay rea-sonable fees to auditors, accountants or other professionals for pro-ducing particulars required to arrive at the amount payable in the event of a loss; and Crime - from either theft or employee dishones-ty.

Psychologists who have their office in a condominium have addition-al insurance requirements. Condo unit owners will require additional condo specific coverages including Loss Assessment, Unit Contingen-cy and Improvements and Betterments coverage. These additional coverages can be added to the Office Contents Package for an addi-tional premium, as can Building (bricks & mortar) coverage for Psy-chologists who own the commercial building in which they practice.

The purpose of all insurance is indemnification. Rather; to put the insured back in the financial position they were prior to a loss. An Office Contents Package, while often overlooked, is one more way to ensure you are properly indemnified in case of an unexpected inci-dent.

Paul Hancock, is Commercial Account Executive with McFarlan Row-lands Insurance Brokers.

Dr. Becky Churchill Keating, CRHSP Registrant Profile

Dr. Becky Churchill Keating is a Child Psychologist in Kentville, Nova Scotia where she works in the local Mental Health Program and maintains a private practice. Dr. Churchill Keating hails from Conception Bay South, New-foundland and always had a passion for working with children, from early experiences as a volunteer with children, teaching Sunday school and outreach work with children in Africa. After pursuing her undergraduate degree at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, she moved to Toronto (“a big transition for a Newfoundland girl!”) where she completed her Master’s and Doctoral degrees at York University in Clinical-Developmental Psychology. Dr. Church-ill Keating followed up her graduate training with a residency in child and adolescent psychology at the State Uni-versity of New York in Syracuse. That experience afforded her wide exposure to specialized areas and the oppor-tunity to be in Syracuse felt more like her roots in the East coast than her experience in Toronto. Since 2007 when she returned to Nova Scotia, she has further developed her focus on working with children, youth, and parents with particular attention to social-emotional development and parental practices to support such. Dr. Churchill Keating contributes a variety of services for children with anxiety disorders, disruptive behaviour, gender dysphoria, devel-opmental concerns, parent education, etc. Her work with children aligns with her perspective that Psychology has

particular relevance for making impacts through early identification and intervention and through health promotion and prevention efforts in communities and schools. Dr. Churchill Keating also contributes her time as Director of Clinical Training for the Psychology Residency Program offered at Valley Regional Hospital as part of the Nova Scotia Health Authority.

CRHSP Board Member Bio

Dr. Gordon Butler completed his psychological training at UNB, Memorial and Queen’s universities. He worked as a psychologist in Newfoundland, Ontario, and Alberta before resettling in Halifax. He has been providing services as a Health Psychologist at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre for more than 25 years. Much of his work is with cardiology and he is a member of the Connective Disorders Clinic, Cardiac Transplant Assessment

Team, and Adult Cystic Fibrosis Team. Dr. Butler also holds appointments as Assistant Professor and Clinical Associate with the Dalhousie University De-partments of Medicine (Psychiatry) and Psychology, respectively and main-tains a small private practice. He has been involved with provincial and na-tional professional psychology bodies for most of his career, including for-mer positions with CRHSP, and he is pleased to be rejoining the Board.

Professional Liability Insurance