Membership & Benefits

We encourage all RTs to hold their own Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) policy. The CSRT PLI policy follows you 24/7 through your full scope of practice as a respiratory therapist wherever you work in Canada and is not limited to your place of employment.

It’s important to be aware that employer’s PLI plans, such as those offered to employees of hospitals and health authorities, may be limited and likely will not cover RTs for volunteer work, work done outside of the employment setting, or when there is a complaint to your regulatory body.

Every year the CSRT PLI policy protects members by providing coverage for civil claims as well as covering legal expenses if a college complaint is made against them.

Maternity / Parental / Medical Leave:

The Professional Liability Insurance does extend to cover a Respiratory Therapist while on leave as long as you continue to be a member in good standing of CSRT. There is NO premium charged to keep your policy active while you are on leave. Members must start paying their premiums as soon as they start offering services again.

It is important to note that professional liability insurance applies on a “claims-made basis”, which means that it only responds if there is an active policy when a claim is reported, not when the incident actually occurred. It is important that your coverage not lapse, even if you are not working.

If you have professional liability insurance coverage when you are going on leave, your policy includes an extension at no cost during your leave: your professional liability insurance coverage will be extended for the duration of your leave. You must be an active member of the CSRT for your professional liability insurance coverage to be valid, it is imperative that you contact the CSRT to inform us that you are on or going on leave, so that we can extend your CSRT membership free of charge for the membership year you will be off work. When you are returning to work, simply contact the CSRT to purchase professional liability insurance coverage.

In The Event That You Are Retiring or Discontinuing Practice:

Your Professional Liability insurance policy automatically includes 5 years of extended reporting period coverage to respond to professional liability claims that arise after you have discontinued practice, but that are based on professional services rendered while you were a practicing member and prior to expiry of your last active policy.

Additional Insurance Products and Services:

CSRT members have access to additional insurance products and services to address your specific professional and business risk exposures. These include:

Legal Services Package

Legal Services Package. For $30 a year, CSRT members have access to a 24/7 telephone legal helpline to ask general business or personal legal questions. Members also have access to a legal documents library and document review service. Members can purchase this package any time through the CSRT Member Portal, in the Store.

Commercial General Liability

Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance protects independent contractors and business owners against claims arising from injury or property damage that you (or your business, including your staff) may cause to another person as a result of your operations and/or premises. For example, a patient may fall and injure themselves on a wet floor in your office or you might cause property damage to a facility that you are contracting out of.

Legal Entity Insurance

In the event of a Professional Liability Insurance claim, both the individual and the business, as the wider provider of services, are likely to be named in a statement of claim or lawsuit. Legal Entity insurance protects the business and its assets in such circumstances.

Business Package

Business owners with valuable contents to insure can purchase a Business Package policy to protect against damage to property, including items usual to an office as well as any stock, improvements and betterments, and loss of revenues caused by an interruption of business activities arising from an insured peril (such as fire). The policy also includes Commercial General Liability and protects against financial loss due to dishonesty, fraud, or theft of money, securities or other property owned by the business/clinic.

Cyber Security & Privacy Liability

Members can purchase a comprehensive Cyber Security and Privacy Liability policy to manage the risk of holding increasingly large quantities of personally identifiable data of patients, employees, and others, and to mitigate the reputational damage resulting from a data security breach.

Employment Practices Liability

Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance protects business owners against allegations of employment practice violation, including wrongful termination, discrimination, workplace harassment, and other employment related allegations.