Republic of Ireland

Your membership is on a claims made basis. This means you will only be entitled to request benefits of membership (such as reporting a claim) if you remain in MDU membership, or have paid additional subscription for the continuing right to request benefits if you leave or retire.

Please note, you should have no expectation that MDU assistance will be afforded beyond an aggregate of €10million for matters notified in any one membership year. Furthermore you should have no expectation that MDU assistance will be afforded beyond an aggregate of €10 million in respect of any claim against more than one member (including you) which arises from the same incident or same set of circumstances.

If you want the peace of mind of knowing you can continue to request assistance after you retire, for a claim or complaint arising from an incident which happened when you had claims made benefits you will need to pay an additional subscription, also known as an extended reporting period or closing payment.

You would also have to pay for an extended reporting period to be able to continue to request benefits should your state of health mean you are unable to continue working.

If you die, your personal representatives may make a closing payment to allow them to continue to request benefits for your estate.

You will need to apply before your membership of the MDU expires. The MDU does not guarantee to offer an extended reporting period to all who apply. Former members who have had their membership terminated by the MDU should have no expectation that they will have their application for an extended reporting period accepted.

If you are planning to retire within the next 12 months, please let our membership team know in advance so we can provide you with a quote for the cost of an extended reporting period. Knowing the cost in advance can allow you to budget.

The size of the closing payment will depend on the number of years that you have held claims made membership and the extent and nature of your practice during these years.

You or your personal representatives should have no expectation that MDU assistance will be afforded beyond an aggregate of €10million over a 10 year period after you leave MDU membership, retire permanently, die or become permanently unable to work for health reasons.

Unfortunately you would need to approach another defence organisation to provide you with indemnity for this extra work.

Once you have notified a claim, or specific incident which may lead to a claim or Medical Council enquiry, MDU assistance can continue even if you subsequently leave the MDU.

If you leave the MDU then you will need to pay an additional subscription (also known as a closing payment) for the continuing right to seek the benefits of membership for matters arising from your period of claims made membership.

In order for you to continue to be able to request assistance after you have started your break, you will need to keep your membership in place, including renewing it if you pass your renewal date.

You will need to continue to pay a subscription, although this is likely to be lower than the subscription you would have paid if you had continued to work. Tell our membership team in advance of your break and we can adjust your subscription. You should also tell us when you return to work so we can bring your benefits up to date.

We would be prepared to consider an application to extend the reporting period as long as this is made before the end of the original 10 year period.