Amount of Malpractice Insurance Coverage in TX

[duvell]

I am a new RN and will be starting my first job next week. This is a second career for me so I have a fare amount of personal assets, at least compared to a traditional new graduate. I did some reading on other forums here and concluded that it would be wise to maintain my own malpractice insurance policy.

From my reading it seemed that NSO was the place to get it and the suggested coverage was $1,000,000 / $4,000,000. I went to the NSO website and got an online quote. I was offered coverage of $100,000/$300,000 for about $116 a year which included a 50% savings for being a recent graduate. The regular rate would be $233.

I was not concerned with the rate but rather with the coverage. Other nurses report getting coverage from NSO for $1M/$4M for about $100.

Does anybody know why the coverage would be so low in Texas? Are there torte reform laws that limit the dollar amount of liability for nurses?

I tried submitting the same information except I changed the state from Texas to New Mexico and I was then given the option of selecting three coverage amounts. The largest was $1M/$6M and the cost for that was $49.

I want to buy insurance to protect the assests I have but $100K/$300K does not cut it.

Comments and ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Paul

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Since Texas is one of the most litigious states in the union regarding medical malpractice, the insurance companies are protecting themselves by limiting the amount of insurance coverage in this state.

If you are a homeowner, you do have the option of obtaining professional Liability Insurance as a rider on your homeowner's policy. Or, you can call insurance agents to see if they'd be willing to issue you a policy with higher limits. Good luck.