New Grad malpractice insurance

[caliheartRN]

Hi AN,

As a new grad RN, should I purchase my own malpractice insurance? I know that technically I am covered by the hospital I work at, but I have been told not to rely on them and to have my own to cover my license. Thoughts? What insurance would you recommend?

Thank you in advance!

[SwansonRN]

I would definitely suggest purchasing your own malpractice insurance. I bought mine from NSO (Nurses Service Organization).

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

thoughts vary on this. Some think you are a target if you have insurance. I did not buy mine till I paid off my mortgage because then I felt vulnerable. I got mine thru my homeowner's policy.

[decembergrad2011, BSN, RN]

thoughts vary on this. Some think you are a target if you have insurance. I did not buy mine till I paid off my mortgage because then I felt vulnerable. I got mine thru my homeowner's policy.

How would you be a target? Is this information publicly available?

[rls8908]

From what I understand/have been told, if a patient decides to sue you they can then find out whether or not you have malpractice insurance. It's not public knowledge until the lawsuit occurs. If they do find out you have malpractice insurance they may be more likely to sue you than if you didn't, mostly because they know that they will get money from the lawsuit, etc.

[windowrn]

Okay, regardless of whether you have your own private policy or whether you are covered through your employer, you have insurance. The plaintiff in a lawsuit already knows that, as an employed nurse, you have some sort of insurance. But, they are not suing you because of the insurance. They are suing you because they are going to sue anyone they can think of to hopefully catch the right people, or at least those with deep pockets.

The problem comes into play when you and your employer have different objectives. The hospital is the "main" insured and the nurses are insured, but are not the lawyer for the insurance company's main concern. You do not want to have your attorney have a potential conflict of interest and to be more concerned about another client than they are about you.

If something happens and you ever took care of the patient, you will be listed on the complaint. It doesn't matter what your insurance policy is. Even if you have your own, you are still not going to be the "deep" pocket defendant.