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Help with your membership application (GPs in England and Wales)

Following the introduction of clinical negligence schemes for general practice in England and Wales, we now offer two types of GP membership:

Professional Protection

which gives you the right to request medicolegal assistance in circumstances not covered by the state scheme eg GMC investigations, criminal matters, coroners’ inquests.
Find out more

Claims Protection

which provides you with the right to request indemnity and defence services in the event of any clinical negligence claims relating to all fee-paying and private work you do outside of an NHS primary medical services contract.

You can get a quote and make an application using the button below.

Get a quote

Membership for newly qualified GPs

With Medical Protection you can save up to 50% on your first year of newly qualified GP (NQGP) membership and up to 30% in your second year of practice. Get the protection your career deserves and the support you need as an NQGP. Find out more

Guidance on Claims Protection

Clinical negligence schemes for general practice in England and Wales provide indemnity for clinical negligence claims arising from the provision of NHS primary medical services and, in England, NHS activities carried out by or for a provider whose principal activity is to provide NHS primary medical services (these are known as ancillary health services).

Private work, and work undertaken in GP practices for which a fee is charged (e.g. medical reports, medical certificates, travel services), are out-of-scope of state indemnity schemes and you will need to add Claims Protection to your membership for the right to request indemnity for claims arising from these activities.

If you are providing a service that is not commissioned under a GMS, PMS or APMS contract in England, or the Welsh GP Contract, we strongly recommend you check the scope of the state indemnity schemes to determine whether you need Claims Protection for this work. If you are uncertain of the contractual basis through which you are providing a service, it is important to check.  We have become aware of clinical negligence claims related to the treatment of NHS patients, but which were considered out of scope for state indemnity (because the services were commissioned by a hospital and the service provider was not a primary medical services subcontractor).

Find out more about the scope of state indemnity schemes for general practice:

How Claims Protection is calculated

If you need to add Claims Protection to your membership, your subscription is based on estimated annual income from activities for which indemnity is needed. This includes income from private work, fee-paying services in general practice and provision of medical services which are outside the scope of the state indemnity schemes.

Fee paying services

All partners in a GP practice, including nurse partners and practice manager partners, should add Claims Protection to their membership if private or fee-paying services are provided by the practice. This is because a clinical negligence claim could be made against the partnership relating to work your team undertakes. You can determine the level of Claims Protection you need by reviewing your previous year’s practice accounts and estimating your share of annual income from fee paying services (whether you undertook the activities or not). 

If, as a GP or healthcare professional, you undertake activities which are out of scope of the state indemnity schemes but you do not personally receive an income from them (i.e. it is income for the practice) you can select the lowest income band for Claims Protection (£0-2,500). 

Non-indemnified practice

When determining the level of Claims Protection you need, you should also include income from any work you personally undertake which is outside the scope of state indemnity, including private work and provision of services outside an NHS contract (unless they are classed as an ancillary service within the scope of state indemnity). If you have any doubts about whether an activity is covered by state indemnity or not, please check with NHS Resolution in England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership in Wales.

Levels of risk and Claims Protection

Please ensure your Claims Protection membership reflects the appropriate level of risk for activities you undertake which are outside the scope of state indemnity schemes and need indemnifying.

Low risk1

Palliative medicine 

Medicolegal work

Occupational medicine

Academic work

Administrative work (non-clinical)

Medical Examiner

Standard risk

Standard GP activities

Higher risk

Forensic medicine

Prison medical officer

Minor surgery

Cosmetic/aesthetic medicine

Out of hours work

Virtual or teleconsulting for unregistered patients or patients who you do not hold full medical records for2

1 To reflect that certain activities within general practice carry a lower risk, this new risk category is available from 1 April 2021 for members who only carry out the listed activities. 

2 If you are undertaking remote consultations with patients you would normally see face-to-face due to COVID-19 you don’t need to inform us or update your membership if this is the only reason you would be in a higher risk category. Find out more about COVID-19 guidance.

Your risk category for your Profession Protection membership relates to all work for which you may need non-claims medicolegal assistance. Your risk category for your Claims Protection membership relates only to work for which you also need indemnity. Your Professional Protection risk category may be different to your Claims Protection risk category.

What you will need in order to apply

To complete your application, please allow 20 minutes and have the following to hand:

- Your qualification details
- Your GMC number
- An estimate of your total income from fee-paying and private work 

Please remember you will need to have Professional Protection membership in order to add Claims Protection.

Working in the UK outside of England or Wales

If you work in more than one country e.g England and Scotland please complete and return the application and payment information forms below by email to [email protected] or post to:

Member Services, Medical Protection, Victoria House, 2 Victoria Place, Leeds LS11 5AE. 

 

More information

What you will need to complete your quote:

  • The full address and postcode of the places you practise
  • Your scope of practice
  • Your GMC reference number
  • Your date of primary qualification
  • Your full registration date
  • Your gross revenue from private work, including any fees, salary, benefits, profit, dividends and bonuses (before expenses)
  • Details of previous indemnifiers, gaps in your professional protection, any previous complaints and claim and case history

A full case history, also known as letter of good standing, will be required to support your application if you have held indemnity or insurance with any other providers in the last ten years (periods of state indemnity are not required). Please send us your case history from previous indemnifiers within 42 days of your application being accepted. If we do not receive this within 42 days, or if the information doesn’t match your application form, it could lead to your membership being cancelled.

Referred applications

Sometimes we need to check the information you have provided in your application (for example if you have had a claim in the past). This will mean that, at the end of your online application, you will be told that it has been referred. It can take up to five days for this to be investigated, but your application will still be progressing in the meantime and we will aim to get back to you sooner than that wherever possible.