Anybody buy their own private insurance?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm hearing that there are some per diem nurses who buy their own insurance and Im just wondering if anyone has experience witht that for a family. Thanks.

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Specializes in LTC, Med Surg, HH.

What kind of insurance are you talking about? Health insurance?

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Well, actually yes I was talking about health insurance and I should have specified that! But that brings up another question...to my mind...I wonder how many buy their own as well....when I was in school our instructors told us that you are better off (as an RN) not doing so b/c the attorneys find out who has it...and if you do not they are less likely to drag you in to try to get more money etc....

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I am an LPN and I carry my own . I have only had to use it once but it paid for itself with that one time use. The only time I was sued by someone the Attorney General office represented me. But when I had to go to the board of nursing the AG office could not represent me so I turned to my liability carrier and they represented me before the board. It is a very prudent thing for nurses to carry their own insurance. The hospitals, LTC facilities, and other medical facilities are not going to be looking out for you when they are the ones being out all the money. When it comes down to it they are going to cover their own butts.

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Yes, I buy my own health insurance. It's somewhat expensive, but it's the best option for me right now as a nursing student who only works part time while I'm in school. I get decent coverage for a bit less than $150 per month, but I'm not sure if this is unusual or not- it might vary quite a bit depending on where you live. I'm in Illinois.

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here's a question -

my mom is an rn and works in the nursery. she once said that it was a bad idea for nurses, especially in the areas of mother-baby care, to carry their own because often the nurses who were named in the lawsuits were the ones who had the insurance. i've heard similar things since then, and it seems that other people believe this to be true for two reasons:

1) why does that nurse feel like he/she needs liability insurance? do they routinely put their patients at risk, thus prompting their need for extra insurance? (this is from a lawyer's point of view - i don't know any nurse who feels this way!)

2) you sue the people who can give you the money, and those with extra liability insurance can provide just that.

i was just wondering if anyone had heard this before and if they knew it to be true or untrue.

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Well, actually yes I was talking about health insurance and I should have specified that! But that brings up another question...to my mind...I wonder how many buy their own liability insurance as well....when I was in school our instructors told us that you are better off (as an RN) not doing so b/c the attorneys find out who has it...and if you do not they are less likely to drag you in to try to get more money etc....

Do you have a house? Retirement assests? Car? Savings?

Depending on the state you live in, and its laws, most of your assets can be taken in a lawsuit, leaving you very little to show for years of work.

Even if you win the suit, you'll likely spend many thousand$ defending yourself. A common tactic is to scare defendants into forking over a substantial chunk of cash because of fear of legal bills, etc.

Insurance makes a lot of sense today. And, no, I don't sell it. :wink2:

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Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

i have always carried my own its cheap 80-100 dollars and is so worth it because i agree with td .

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Socishan...what company do you use? For health insurance?

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Speaking of liablility insurance for nurses - anybody know of good comparison sites? In terms of the companies...

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I think you need both ... health and ... even if you have to pay for it.

I recently had an ortho injury and so have two of my friends. But I have health insurance to pay for my operation, which will probably run at least $20,000 ... and they don't.

They now have no way to pay for their surgeries, which is costing them a lot of lost income as well. People think you can do without health insurance but, you really can't because you never know what's going to happen.

As far as liability insurance ... I have a ton of equity in my house to protect so, that already makes me a target for lawyers anyway if something goes wrong. So, yeah ... I have liability insurance also.

I'm a big believer in insurance.

:typing

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Well, actually yes I was talking about health insurance and I should have specified that! But that brings up another question...to my mind...I wonder how many buy their own liability insurance as well....when I was in school our instructors told us that you are better off (as an RN) not doing so b/c the attorneys find out who has it...and if you do not they are less likely to drag you in to try to get more money etc....

Keep in mind that there are pros and cons to not carrying your own insurance in case you get sued for negligence or malpractice. You may be less likely to get sued, however, if you DO get sued, you'll be paying out of your own pocket for a defense and you can get PERSONALLY sued, which meanns you can lose your home, everything, plus get your waged garnished for the rest of your life.

Most states have laws that if you carry a professional license and carry the appropriate insurance to go with it, that you cannot be personally sued.

To me, I would never risk this. Your entire career is a long time and you should never assume that a hospital will protect you.

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