Professional Liability Insurance
You must get your own professional liability insurance (PLI) before you:
- apply for registration
- apply to reinstate your practice permit, or
- apply to renew your practice permit
Requirement
Your professional liability insurance 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
Where You Can Get PLI
Many providers offer professional liability insurance. Though your PLI must be the type and amount we require, it’s up to you to choose who you purchase it from.
These options* may help get you started:
- Prolink (https://prolink.insure/associations/rdaa/) is one option of an insurance company that offers PLI 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 for dental assistants.
*We do not endorse any providers.
How You Can Demonstrate That You Meet the Requirement
You can show that you have the required professional liability insurance by uploading a copy of your insurance certificate when we ask for it in your registration/ reinstatement/ renewal application. If you don’t have an insurance certificate, we will also accept proof of insurance that shows your PLI coverage meets the requirements listed above. We accept any of these as proof:
- a copy of your PLI policy certificate
- written confirmation from your insurer
- proof of third-party PLI
Your policy period must cover you until the end of the practice permit/ registration year you are applying for. For example:
- when you are applying for registration and a practice permit for the 2024 permit year, your PLI must be in effect until December 1, 2024
- when you are applying to reinstate your practice permit for the 2024 permit year, your PLI must be in effect until December 1, 2024
- when you are applying to renew your practice permit for the 2025 permit year, your PLI must be in effect until December 1, 2025
Sample PLI Proof We Accept - click image to enlarge
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.
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, offers your patients resources should an adverse event occur, and it 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 professional liability insurance. They cover information like:
- 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 professional liability insurance requirements, reach out to our Regulatory Compliance Advisors. If you have questions about insurance coverage details, please reach out to your insurance broker.
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