Insurance linked to professional body cancellation notice is it legal ? I want to shop around

Bigalien

I would like to discontinue my membership with a professional body. Membership and liability business insurance are linked. I would like to shop around for a cheaper insurance and leave the professional body. I have been told I need to give 12 months notice to resign my membership of the professional body and therefore no longer renew my insurance with them. Is this legal? Can the governing body force me to renew for another year? It is now the beginning of May and my renewal is not due until the beginning of July, I don’t have to do this with my car insurance or home insurance or any other insurance for that matter is it right they can force me to do this? 

Many thanks for any advice given. 

davidmcn

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be legal. Remember consumer laws aren't going to be applicable here.

Bigalien

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it.. I don’t see the logic really. Not disputing what you say but strange when home or car insurance renewal date comes around on insurance and you are given a reminder and you have the opportunity to shop around and go with someone else... so these organisations have you over a barrel.. as for legalities if I refused to pay and give 12 months notice would I be likely to be gone after ? 

MovingForwards

Professional membership is the regulatory body / support of whatever profession it is you do for a living. 

Some of these memberships allow you to have the regulatory and support side, as long as you are insured with an appropriate insurance company.

Others are only the regulatory side and you pay a different company for the support / insurance.

Read the T&C's regarding what happens when you die and the fees as they again vary body to body as without knowing what profession, we can't say anything other than generic / catch all comments.

Bigalien

Thanks for the comments I’m not sure how much detail I can go with regards the professional body that I am a member of. I am a chiropodist/podiatrist... I know for a fact that they do not split their membership at all as you suggested and also I have read in the rulebook that I need to send surrender my certificates, for them, I suppose write discontinued membership on, before they return them back to me. As I said these people are the professional body but the regulatory body of which I’m a member also is the Health  care professions Council, (HCPC). the professional body to which I refer are also the owners of the school of chiropody I trained with. 
but it is the HCPC I have to keep registered with to maintain the legal right to use the title Podiatrist. The chiropody school who taught me stopped training Podiatrists when the legislation was introduced. I was accepted onto the HCPC regulator register as I completed extra training which was paid for by the Dr I was working for at the time.

so to cut a long story short I trained with a chiropody school who are also the professional body I am a member of who also provide my insurance and have been doing so for the last best part of 20 years.. because of the poor support I have been given by the professional body during the covert outbreak and the expensive joint membership fee and insurance I would like to be able to shop around for insurance which I can get for a third of the price, but in order to do so I have been demanded to give the professional body 12 months notice which means paying for another 12 months and also they Demand that I relinquish my certificates. This would make no odds as far as I can gather in keeping my registration with the HCPC to whom I have to be registered to maintain the title of chiropodist or podiatrist as they are now protected titles. But as such I feel aggrieved as I paid a lot of money to train as a cropper dissed with the school and also put a lot of effort and time and hard work into topping up my qualifications in order to get registration onto the HCPC.... I am very sorry for the wordy nature of this post but it is very difficult to explain in not so many words... many thanks 

Thrugelmir

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it..

Would any as yet undefined potential claims die with you? Or would your insurer remain liable. 

davidmcn

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it.

Well, your estate may be liable for it, your other half wouldn't be personally liable.

I don’t see the logic really.

You didn't ask us whether it was logical, just whether it was legal...but if them's the rules, then yes it's legal. What law do you think might prohibit it?

Not disputing what you say but strange when home or car insurance renewal date comes around on insurance and you are given a reminder and you have the opportunity to shop around and go with someone else

Home and car insurance are mass-market consumer products, and aren't linked to membership of some other organisation, so I'm not sure it's all that relevant a comparison.

as for legalities if I refused to pay and give 12 months notice would I be likely to be gone after ? 

I have no idea. You haven't told us how much money is involved for a start. If all this is problematic or outrageous, hasn't there been any discussion about it within the profession?

Bigalien

Thrugelmir said:

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it..

Would any as yet undefined potential claims die with you? Or would your insurer remain liable. 

Thrugelmir said:

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it..

Would any as yet undefined potential claims die with you? Or would your insurer remain liable.  

dacouch

Is an element of the Insurance they provide Professional Indemnity / Medical Negligence?

DCFC79

Bigalien said:

Thrugelmir said:

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it..

Would any as yet undefined potential claims die with you? Or would your insurer remain liable. 

Thrugelmir said:

Bigalien said:

So if I was to drop dead tomorrow or fall ill and unable to work, my other half would have to pay for a years subscription and insurance even though Iam not around to use it..

Would any as yet undefined potential claims die with you? Or would your insurer remain liable.  

You've quoted the same reply twice.
Did you mean to add a comment ?

Manxman_in_exile

What happens if you simply don't renew* your membership (and insurance) and allow it to lapse?  I don't see how you can be obliged to give 12 months notice to your professional body if membership is not a condition of you being able to practise?  You say that so long as you maintain your registration with HCPC you are still entitled to call your self a Chiropodist/Podiatrist and practise as one.  Also I don't understand why you would need to surrender any certificates, unless they perform a similar function to solicitors' annual Practice Certificates and indicate that your training and professional development are up to date.  But if that were the case, that'd be a matter between you and the HCPC wouldn't it, because it's their registration that allows you to practise?

It seems an odd situation to me - but perhaps that's what it is and you have to maintain membership with the professional body.

Don't you know any professional colleagues who are, or have been, in the same position?  I use a podiatrist and I know (through the professional body ) that there are scores locally.

*Obviously get the insurance side sorted out before allowing it to lapse, if you go down that route.

EDIT:  I've assumed you are in private practice (because of the insurance question), but perhaps you are employed in the NHS.  If you are, ask your HR dept about professional registration requirements.