Understanding your membership
As a mutual, member owned organisation we are here for the sole purpose of supporting and representing our members. We do this in accordance with the provisions of our Memorandum and Articles of Association (a copy of which can be found here), which govern the relationship between the organisation and our members.
There is more information about how Dental Protection provides protection in our
Guide to member benefits.
- You must be/have been a member of Dental Protection, in the appropriate membership category, at the time of an event giving rise to a request for assistance. The events must not predate the date of joining Dental Protection.
- You must have paid the correct subscription rate to reflect your scope of practice and complied with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- You must have been registered and/or licensed with the appropriate regulatory body to carry out the clinical duties you undertake, you must have appropriate training and experience, and you must be (or have been) working within the boundaries of your professional competence and scope of practice.
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We carefully consider each request for assistance, but there are some circumstances in which we are unlikely to help. The following, whilst not an exhaustive list, are some examples of where we are unlikely to provide assistance.
These may include, for example:
- Claims relating to property, including its damage or destruction.
- Claims relating to making, distributing or selling any product (product liability).
- Claims that relate to public or employers liability (for example a patient or member of staff falling on your premises).
- Pollution or environmental claims, other than relating to treating an individual patient who is injured or ill as a result of pollution.
- Claims arising from cyber-attacks and/or cybersecurity breaches.
- Claims and/monetary penalties arising from data loss or data breaches.
- Systemic failures, or lack of technical or organisational process / process failures.
Such as:
- Activities not related to the normal treatment of a patient, for example drink driving offences, possession of drugs or assault.
- Claims arising from the unlawful sale, supply or use of any substance.
- Matters arising from a deliberate intention to cause harm, or from a fraudulent, dishonest, malicious or reckless act or omission (including retrospectively altering clinical or other records).
- Claims arising from allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, unlawful discrimination or any other alleged unlawful conduct.
- Criminal allegations arising from your personal interactions, unless brought before your professional regulator.
Dental Protection is unlikely to assist with matters relating to personal rather than professional conduct unless brought before your professional regulator.
Examples of personal conduct include (but would not be limited to):
- Allegations relating to bullying and harassment.
- Allegations relating to dishonesty.
- A failure to comply with basic employment and/or professional requirements (for example failure to attend mandatory training courses, failure to comply with appraisal and/or revalidation requirements).
- A failure to meet a prescribed academic standard.
Such as:
- Partnership, employment or agency disputes (whether contractual or otherwise), or compensation claims.
- Fee scales and recovery of charges for work you have carried out.
- Claims arising from your involvement in the clinical management or assessment of a professional sports person where the claim is brought by a party other than the patient or their dependants – for more information on treating professional sports people click here.
- Assistance with claims brought by any employer, agent, contractor or sponsor of an individual patient or the organiser or owner of any event for which you provided professional services.
- Issues arising from commercial contracts or arrangements, or related to any trading or personal debt you may have, including claims arising from your insolvency or bankruptcy.
- Investigations or administration fines brought by competition authorities, the information commissioner, or any regulatory or supervisory body, excluding your professional regulatory body.
- Any indirect or consequential loss or loss of profits or earnings by you or your practice.
- Legal expenses or costs if you pursue a grievance or claim of defamation or discrimination against someone else.
Such as:
- Personal costs arising from your attendance at court, hearings or meetings with us about a case, or the costs of any locum cover you may arrange.
- Claims made by someone other than the subject or recipient of a professional or expert report you provided.
- Assistance with applications to professional lists or registers e.g. Medical Register.
- Damages awarded in a claim for defamation against you.
- Claims arising from material published or broadcast by you, or on your behalf, or to which you have contributed.
- Claims arising in a jurisdiction not covered by your membership.
- Matters arising from your failure to meet the legal or regulatory requirements of another country in which you were practising.
- Claims made under US and Canadian law or brought in the US or Canadian courts. For further information please click here.
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It is vital that you keep us up-to-date with any changes to your work that could impact on your membership. You are responsible for ensuring that the protection provided is appropriate for the work you undertake. Any failure to disclose full and accurate details could result in the declining or withdrawal of membership benefits and/or the termination or cancellation of membership. Please notify us of any changes in advance or as soon as possible after they come into effect.
Examples of changes we would expect you to tell us about include:
- Any change of contact details.
- An inability to work for an extended period of time.
- A planned return to work after a break in membership.
- Any change to your scope of practice, number of sessions or hours worked or, where you have been advised of its relevance, your invoiced private practice revenue.
Members who are part of a Group Membership scheme should note that it remains their responsibility to ensure that membership is adequately maintained by the person within the group tasked with the administration of the scheme. Failure to inform us of a change, for example failing to inform of a return to work following maternity or paternity leave, cannot normally be rectified retrospectively.
You must
- Notify us of any claims or circumstances that might give rise to claims or cases made against you in a timely way.
- Fully comply with Dental Protection’s requests, for example to provide information in relation to your membership.
- Comply with Dental Protection’s reasonable requirements for case management (for example, to attend conferences or meetings to provide information).
- Be honest and truthful in all dealings and behave in a reasonable manner towards Dental Protection staff.
- Accept Dental Protection’s choice of legal representation.
- Accept Dental Protection’s advice and conduct of cases in all material matters (including case strategy and settlement).
- Co-operate fully with us and our representatives.
- Provide full and accurate information relevant to the case without delay, and be truthful and act in good faith at all times.
- Not admit legal liability for a claim, or settle a claim without our agreement. This does not restrict members from being transparent in the event of an adverse incident, or from providing an appropriate apology.
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For information on our use of your personal data and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement.
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