Assalaamualaikum
My colleagues and I are in the process of setting up a medical humanitarian relief organisation.
As we will primarily be operating this from the UK (although our initial target audience is the subcontinent), our regulatory body has stated that it is mandatory for us to obtain medical indemnity insurance. This is so that in the event of a successful claim against us, naudhubillah, the patient will be guaranteed financial compensation. In other words, even if we were to forego medical indemnity cover and somehow hire a lawyer on the spot, there is still no guarantee we will be able to provide the X amount should a successful claim be made against us - an insurance company, on the other hand, does provide this guarantee - at least to our regulators.
Is it permissible for us to obtain basic indemnity insurance to fulfill this obligation in order to undertake this humanitarian work? I have asked other scholars, less versed in Islamic finance, and they have cast doubt on the permissibility of insurance in general.
wa 'alaikum assalaam
A