Medical Protection Society

Membership

The New Zealand Private Physiotherapists Association is the New Zealand agent for all physiotherapists who wish to take up membership of the Medical Protection Society.
Combined NZPPA membership and MPS provides the best available professional protection - at the most reasonable cost.  However, membership of MPS is open to ALL physiotherapists.*

Strength & Reliability

Over the years, many medical defence organisations and commercial insurers have come and gone from the New Zealand indemnity scene. The Medical Protection Society celebrated 100 years of service to health professionals in 1992 and has enjoyed a strong presence in New Zealand since 1952. It now has a total of nearly 10,000 New Zealand members, 160,000 members internationally and is fully funded to meet its financial liabilities into the future.
MPS is a mutual, not-for-profit, medical defence organisation. Thus, it is driven by the needs and benefit of its collective membership, not by commercial imperatives.

Benefits Of Membership

Membership of MPS entitles you to seek advice, assistance and indemnity in any matter affecting your professional character.
Because MPS is not an insurance company, there are no fine-print exclusion and limitation clauses as are seen on insurance contracts. Each request for MPS assistance is considered sympathetically on its individual merits. This 'discretion' is used in an inclusive way. A claim or complaint can be eligible for cover so long as you are a member of the Society when the relevant incident occurs ("occurrence based cover"). Therefore, if you retire from practice or leave the Society for other reasons, you will still be covered for those incidents which occurred whilst you were a member, even though you may not have been notified of the complaint until after your membership ceased. The importance of this is obvious when one considers that only 40% of claims/complaints are notified in the year of occurrence, and 5% of claims/complaints have not been yet notified even 5 years later after the incident. Compare this to commercial insurer contracts where one needs to be a paid-up policy-holder both in the year of the incident's occurrence and the year it is notified ("claims made" basis). This can necessitate purchasing "run-off cover" for those years after retirement.

The Scope Of Cover

Though New Zealand's Accident Compensation scheme reduces the risk of court proceedings for damages (being 'sued'), a plethora of accountability mechanisms now exist. The Health and Disability Commissioner Act and it's associated Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights is now the dominant process, but others include the Privacy Commissioner, the Coroner's Court, audit by Health Benefits Ltd, and disciplinary processes. The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 encompasses all Health Professionals under one registration, regulation and disciplinary structure. Such a multiplicity of mechanisms can be distressing for those professionals involved. An organisation that can provide advice and support, as well as legal representation when required, is more important than ever.
The benefits of membership do not extend to non-professional, purely commercial matters such as disputes about fees, financial disputes with employers or employees, or taxation or town-planning matters; nor for matters arising within the USA or Canada.

Complete Protection

MPS meets the legal and related costs in every case it manages for its members. We do not require a member to pay an "excess", and there is no cap or ceiling to the cover. Furthermore, in the event that damages are awarded against you, these will also be covered by the Society.

Membership Subscriptions

Each year MPS subscriptions reflect the recent years' experience with health professionals in New Zealand and our actuaries' prediction of the incidence and cost of cases in the future. MPS is committed to full funding; that is, to hold current reserves to meet all predicted cases in the future. Despite this, the Society has been able to hold subscriptions level for some years.

Accessing The Advisory Service

Simply phone 0800 CALL MPS (0800 22 55 677) to receive advice. This service is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide you with medico-legal advice and determine the need for legal representation. The medico-legal advisors are Dr Peter Robinson, Dr Tim Cookson, Dr Aine McCoy and Dr Mike Sexton.

Membership Administration Enquiries

These should be directed to the NZPPA Office:
Tollfree 0800 697 720
Tel (04) 978 7154
Fax (04) 978 7148
Email office@nzppa.org.nz
PO Box 5292, Wellington, 6145
Contact NZPPA for current membership rates and an application form.
*Note:  Upon joining MPS, physiotherapists can be refunded the insurance premium component of their NZSP annual subscription.