Nurse Insights: Should Nurses Get Personal Liability Insurance?

As a registered nurse (RN), it’s important to be aware of the potential risks associated with your profession and take steps to protect yourself. One such step is obtaining personal liability insurance. In this article, we’ll explore the significance of personal liability insurance for nurses and compare it to employer-provided malpractice insurance to help you make informed decisions about your coverage options.

Nurse Insights

Should Nurses Get Personal Liability Insurance?

In our Nurse Insights series, experienced nurses offer an insider’s perspective on the nursing profession by addressing common questions, challenges, and triumphs of their careers.

Understanding Personal Liability Insurance

As an active nurse, you take on a particular level of risk every time you walk into work. You provide patient care, often in time-sensitive and high-stress situations. In these environments, there is always the potential for something to go wrong, despite your best intentions and high nursing skill set. This is where personal liability insurance comes into play for nursing professionals.

Generally, personal liability insurance provides coverage for legal costs and claims for damages that arise from your actions or omissions in delivering professional nursing services. Often, these policies cover incidents that are not covered by your employer’s insurance, which makes them critical in protecting yourself both professionally and personally.

The Scope of Personal Liability Insurance

Specifically, if a patient or their family decides to sue because of an injury, alleged malpractice, or adverse reaction while under your care, personal liability insurance can handle legal and court fees. It can also cover settlement costs if applicable. It’s essential to understand that such lawsuits can occur regardless of whether you made a mistake or not. In some cases, just the allegation of negligence or injury can lead to a suit.

In short, having personal liability insurance is like strapping on a safety belt every time you step into a patient’s room—it protects you in the event of an accident. You should at least consider obtaining one, especially given the increasing legalities and complexities in healthcare.

Not having personal liability insurance does not make you exempt from being sued. On the contrary, it leaves you economically vulnerable if you need to mount a legal defense. Understanding these risks and the role of personal liability insurance is a necessary step in your nursing profession.

Personal Liability Insurance vs. Employer’s Malpractice Insurance

Personal liability insurance and employer-provided malpractice insurance have some key differences to consider. The most significant difference is who is covered under the policy.

Employer-Provided Malpractice Insurance

Your hospital or healthcare facility might provide you with malpractice insurance. This type of coverage generally protects the employer and may not offer the full legal defense or compensation that you might require if named individually in a lawsuit.

Even though malpractice insurance offered by your employer is beneficial, it’s also geared towards protecting the hospital or organization’s best interests. These policies often have shared limits, and if a claim exceeds that limit, you may find your personal assets exposed.

Additionally, should you move jobs or switch employers, your coverage might not follow you. So, if a claim is filed against you for an incident that happened at your previous job after you’ve already left, you might not be covered.

Personal Liability Insurance

On the other hand, personal liability insurance would protect you individually. This policy ensures that even if a claim against you exceeds the employer-provided insurance limit, or if you switch employers, you have protection. It provides coverage for legal fees, settlement costs, and even some related expenses you may incur.

Personal liability insurance provides peace of mind and additional security. It is a separate policy that focuses on your interests as a nurse and not those of your employer. As a nurse, consider having both types of insurance. Having personal liability insurance alongside your employer’s malpractice insurance offers an extra layer of protection.

In the high-risk healthcare setting, you may face situations that result in legal action. Having both types of insurance can help keep you protected financially and professionally, offering peace of mind as you provide the best care possible to your patients.

Coverage of Personal Liability Insurance for Nurses

Personal liability insurance for nurses is a crucial aspect of your professional protection toolkit. This insurance coverage primarily concerns itself with three main areas of potential liability: claims of malpractice or negligence, defense costs, and licensing issues.

Malpractice or Negligence Claims

As a nurse, you could face allegations of malpractice or negligence while providing care to a patient. These allegations could arise from various actions or omissions, such as administering the wrong medication or dosage, failing to monitor a patient’s condition adequately, or failing to communicate critical information to a doctor.

Personal liability insurance often pays monetary damages if a court finds you liable in a malpractice lawsuit. Monetary damages may constitute compensation for a patient’s medical costs, pain, suffering, loss of income, or other forms of harm caused.

Cover for Legal Assistance and Defense Costs

Facing a lawsuit can be financially and emotionally taxing, and more so when fighting legal battles without the necessary resources. In such instances, personal liability insurance helps by providing legal assistance. The insurer may appoint and pay an attorney to defend you and cover various defense costs such as court costs, expert witness fees, and other related expenses.

Licensing Issues

Your career as a nurse hinges on your license to practice. Allegations or investigations launched against you could result in severe consequences, including the revocation of your nursing license. Personal liability insurance can offer protection during board of nursing investigations or disciplinary actions, potentially covering legal defense costs and, in some cases, public relations costs to protect your reputation. Each policy will differ, so you should pay close attention to the terms and conditions of your insurance contract to understand what is covered and excluded.

In essence, personal liability insurance is an essential part of risk management for nurses. It offers financial resources and legal assistance that enable you to mount a strong defense against malpractice allegations, negligence claims, and licensure issues, ultimately safeguarding your career and livelihood.

Why Nurses Might Need Personal Liability Insurance

There are a number of professional situations in which putting personal liability insurance to use can be highly beneficial for you as a nurse.

Patient Injury Claims

If a patient or their relatives make allegations of physical or emotional harm, a high-quality policy will provide legal assistance, cover the damages awarded, or even bear the cost of an out-of-court settlement. This is important because, as a nurse, you face the risk of being sued for medical malpractice or negligence. Whether the claim is founded or not, legal costs can be a significant burden.

Protection Beyond Employer Coverage

Your employer’s insurance doesn’t always completely cover you. The hospital or healthcare facility where you work may have its own insurance. However, this is principally structured to protect the interests of the institution and not necessarily individual employees. Personal liability insurance can fill in these gaps, ensuring you’re not left to deal with any legal fallout on your own.

License Protection

Additionally, personal liability insurance often comes with license protection coverage. If an incident at work leads to the board of nursing investigating your license, this coverage can help with legal fees. Remember, your license is your livelihood, and protecting it is of extreme importance in your nursing career.

Defamation or Violation of Privacy

Personal liability insurance can also assist in situations involving defamation or breach of patient privacy. For example, if you unintentionally share confidential patient information or someone misinterprets your statements as slanderous, insurance can help cover legal costs.

In conclusion, personal liability insurance provides robust legal and financial protection in various professional scenarios—ranging from patient injury, insufficient employer coverage, and license investigations, to defamation and privacy violations. Having this insurance can help you navigate these challenges and avoid significant personal financial loss.

Cost and Providers of Personal Liability Insurance for Nurses

Personal liability insurance for nurses can vary in cost depending on a variety of factors. These factors include the area of nursing you’re in, where you’re practicing, and the amount of coverage you choose. You may find policies that range from around $100 to $200 per year. This type of insurance is essential to protect you from potential legal claims related to your nursing practice.

Insurance Providers

There are a number of known insurance providers that offer personal liability insurance for nurses.

• NSO (Nurses Service Organization) is a highly reputable provider in this field, offering professional liability insurance specifically designed for nursing professionals.
• Proliability is another option, backed by industry giant Liberty Mutual Insurance, they cater to a range of healthcare professionals, including nurses.
• HPSO (Healthcare Providers Service Organization) is yet another provider for nurses to consider. They offer comprehensive coverage and a variety of plans.

Remember, it’s always important to read the terms and conditions of any policy in full in order to understand what is and isn’t covered. Understanding this will ensure you choose a policy that best fits your specific nursing role and risk level.

While this might seem like a frivolous, additional cost, considering the nature of the profession and the associated risks, having personal liability insurance is a prudent step toward safeguarding your career.

Downsides of Not Having Personal Liability Insurance

Not carrying personal liability insurance can lead to several unfavorable outcomes for a practicing nurse.

Financial Risk

One of the most immediate dangers is the financial risk. If a lawsuit occurs, and you are not covered by personal liability insurance, the associated legal fees and potential settlement payments would have to come out of your pocket. This can lead to major financial burdens or even personal bankruptcy.

Job Security Risk

Another downside is the risk it poses to your job security. In some healthcare facilities, having personal liability insurance is a requirement. Failing to maintain this insurance could lead to job loss.

License Protection

Without personal liability insurance, your nursing license could be at risk. If a patient or their family files a lawsuit and you are found to be at fault, the state nursing board has the power to take disciplinary action, which could include revoking your license.

It’s crucial that you weigh these risks before deciding whether to invest in personal liability insurance. However, protecting yourself financially and professionally is vital in maintaining a successful nursing career.