Professional Liability Insurance Coverage

Requirement

You must get your own professional liability insurance (PLI) coverage before you:

• apply for registration
• apply to reinstate your practice permit, or
• apply to renew your practice permit

Your PLI coverage must meet these requirements:

• your name must be on the PLI policy and it must match the name on your registration/ reinstatement/ renewal application
• your coverage is:
  • occurrence based
  • at least two-million dollars ($2,000,000.00) per claim
  • at least three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) for all claims combined per year

How You Can Demonstrate That You Meet the Requirement

You can show that you have the required PLI coverage by uploading proof when we ask for it in your registration/ reinstatement/ renewal application. We accept any of these as proof:

• a copy of your PLI policy certificate
• written confirmation from your insurer
• proof of third-party PLI

If you don’t have any of those as proof, please contact us. In special cases only we may consider accepting a completed PLI Declaration Form instead.

Where You Can Get PLI Coverage

Many providers offer PLI. Though your PLI must be the type and amount Council requires, it’s up to you to choose who you purchase it from. You are responsible to review the coverage they offer and make an informed decision.

These options* may help get you started:

• Prolink (https://prolink.insure/associations/rdaa/) is one option of an insurance company that offers PLI coverage for dental assistants, including immediate access to an insurance certificate when you use their online application form.
• Association of Alberta Dental Assistants (https://rda-alberta.ca/pli-membership/) is one option of an association that offers PLI coverage through a group plan for dental assistants.

*We do not endorse any providers or verify that the coverage they offer meets our requirements.

Other Ways to Meet this Requirement

There are no other ways to meet this requirement.

How We Assess this Requirement

We use Registration Policy RP16 Professional Liability Insurance to assess this requirement.

What is Professional Liability Insurance?

Professional liability insurance, also known as malpractice insurance or errors and omissions insurance, protects you against potential negligence claims made by your patients and employers. A PLI policy covers errors, omissions or negligent acts, which may arise from the normal or usual services you provide.

Additional Information

These PLI Questions & Answers will help answer your questions about PLI. They cover information like:

• options for where you can get PLI coverage
• what occurrence-based coverage is
• things to consider when you get PLI

After you review the PLI Questions & Answers, if you still have questions about our PLI requirements, reach out to our Regulatory Compliance Advisors. If you have questions about insurance coverage details, please reach out to your insurance broker.