Malpractice insurance for RNs

Nurses General Nursing

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Is it worth it to buy extra as an RN? What does it cover? About how much is it? How do you go about getting this extra coverage?

Thank you

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Specializes in retired LTC.

Buy it.. Lots of comments on this subject recently...very appropriate.

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Thank you for the advice. Do you know where I can find more information about this?

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Specializes in NICU.

I use NSO, Still less than $99 a year. There are other companies, too.

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If you type "" into the window at the top of this page, you'll get a number of links to previous threads on this, and some to companies that sell it. I've had NSO for decades.

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/do-all-nurses-583077.html

Some folks will say that they have heard that only people with insurance get sued, under the "deep pockets" theory of litigation, or that the hospital's insurance will cover you for nursing malpractice. Neither is true. Problem is that if your hospital has a judgment against them for something you did, they don't pay it, their insurance carrier pays it. And then, no matter what the hospital promises you, the insurance carrier is entitled by law to recover their losses...from you. My dad wrote insurance on hospitals for years and told me never, never, never go "bare" (without my own insurance) unless I was perfectly comfortable living under a bridge, with no real estate, no money, and no car.

Yeah, I know, there are laws protecting some assets under bankruptcy. But they could garnish your wages more or less in perpetuity, and that wreaks hell with your credit rating. You wanna deal c that? Not I, since decent malpractice insurance is good for short money.

Make sure the policy you buy is clear to you: Does it cover you only while it's in force (while you're still paying for it), or does it cover you for things that happened while you were paying for it in the past, even if you aren't working now and don't think you need insurance? Be sure it pays for your own lawyer, too, or supplies one to defend you (never, never rely on the hospital's lawyer to defend you-- conflict of interest there; they do not have your best interests at heart no matter what they say).

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In New Zealand is built into our union (NZNO) membership fees at just over a $100 a year. However you do have to be a member of NZNO of course.

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Thank You for your comments, I appreciate the link. Very informative.

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