Malpractice/Liabilty Insurance

[dreamer42]

Hello!

I am a newly graduated RN about to start my first job at a telemetry unit later this month. During my time as a student, I've heard of nurses carrying their own malpractice/liability insurance (I'm assuming both are the same thing?) and I have a few questions regarding this.

1) Is this something I should get? / How important is it that I have this?

2) Where would I be able to sign up for coverage?

Any information anyone could provide would be great. Thanks!

Edit: just saw that all Nurses offers Liability Insurance coverage but I'd still like to hear from anyone else about other options!

[RiskManager]

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/one-healthcare-risk-999441.html

^^^I generally recommend the CNA policy most commonly sold by NSO. The Liberty Mutual policy sold by ProLiability is also an option, but CNA has the largest market share by far. Just make an informed decision on what you are buying, and realize that the policy is written such that it will only very rarely cover you for malpractice, if you are a nurse employed by a hospital or other facility. If your state has an aggressive BON that files many complaints, this is an argument for buying a policy. Bear in mind that the policy provides up to $ 25,000 legal reimbursement for BON complaints filed against your license. There is no coverage nor legal reimbursement for BON investigations; it has to be an actual complaint filed against your license for the licensure defense coverage to apply.

Many people buy the policy because they think that if they are involved in a malpractice claim or licensure action, the insurance company will automatically provide them with an attorney or legal defense, and this simply is not true. Coverage is triggered only in very specific circumstances. I have spoken at length about this, so you can search on my posts for details. Be wary of risk management advice from someone with no actual training or experience in the profession.