Malpractice insurance

SweetSouthernLove, ASN, BSN · Jan 28, 2020

As a regular staff nurse consistently caring for patients in a clinical setting I always carried personal nursing malpractice insurance. It ranges maybe $150-200/year and to me it is worth it. I was previously insured with Mercer Proliability and now I am insured with Nurses Service Organization (NSO) and they both provide about the same coverage. My patients aren't aware that I hold this coverage so I am not really sure what you mean as in regards of having "something to take." I keep this coverage even now when I do not work in the clinical setting much as I am currently PRN in an OR and work for an insurance company now.

The bottom line is, employers may offer malpractice/liability, and if a claim is made against you it will be your employer they are working for, not you. This can be problematic for many reasons. Surprisingly, a large number of nurses do NOT carry this insurance when they should. It pays for a defense attorney and any settlement/judgment against the nurse. People insure their homes, cars, pets etc. but not their careers which is surprisingly odd considering most people live paycheck to paycheck and this coverage is dirt cheap compared to other insurance premiums. Please, do your research and educate yourself to the best of your ability. Sometimes insurance is tricky, but often times the employer has fine print regarding this type of insurance and how it protects you, as a nurse or a provider you have a right to look at this at anytime if you are employed with them and providing patient care.

This type of situation also can be problematic for private practices, when providers move from one employer to another or have a gap in work history without what is called "tail coverage." It is best practice and recommended that nurses carry their own Liability Insurance policy if a claim of malpractice is made specifically against them.

As a nurse who has worked both in insurance and in clinical and non-clinical areas of nursing, my recommendation would be to at least look at policies, try to find a reasonable one that fits your needs and never let it lapse, especially if you continue on in education. Best of luck.

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Feb 8, 2020

It's been a few years since I went from being an RN to an NP Student (which costs a lot more to insure), but NSO's occurrence coverage was still $50/year for RNs at the time.

Your employer's insurance can always decide to throw you under the bus. Your own insurance is cheap and can be well worth the money.