Liability insurance — social work (Quebec)
Every social worker practising full-time, part-time OR OCCASIONALLY must adhere to the collective professional liability insurance contract concluded by the Ordre (a. 1). The collective contract must provide a minimum guarantee of at least $500,000 per claim and $1,000,000 for all claims arising in the guarantee period for which a claim is presented (a. 4(1°)); the contract must also cover claims presented against the insured’s heirs after the guarantee period in which they die, pay third-party damages up to the guarantee amount, and take up the insured’s defence and pay legal costs and interest in addition to the insured amount (a. 4(2°)-(4°)). In practice the Ordre’s collective contract provides higher limits than the regulatory floor — currently up to $2,000,000 per claim and $2,000,000 for all claims per insurance period. Exemptions exist for social workers in the exclusive service of certain employers, subject to filing with the Ordre’s secretary a certificate by which the employer stands as guarantor and answers financially for the member’s faults or negligence, with a guarantee meeting the minimum stipulations of a. 4.
“1. Tout travailleur social qui exerce sa profession à temps plein, à temps partiel ou occasionnellement doit adhérer au contrat du régime collectif d’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle conclu par l’Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec […]” … “4. Le contrat d’assurance établissant un régime collectif d’assurance de la responsabilité professionnelle souscrit par l’Ordre doit prévoir les conditions minimales suivantes: 1° un montant de garantie d’au moins 500 000 $ par sinistre et de 1 000 000 $ pour l’ensemble des sinistres qui surviennent au cours de la période de garantie et pour lesquels une réclamation est présentée” — RLRQ c. C-26, r. 283, aa. 1 et 4 (à jour au 1er avril 2026)