Employer-provided malpractice insurance delivers only partial coverage
If you rely entirely on your employer’s malpractice coverage, you could be in for a painful surprise.
Who pays for your employer’s policy? Your employer. Whose name is on the policy? Your employer. If a malpractice claim is filed against you and your employer, and your interest conflicts with your employer’s, who is the insurance company going to back? Your employer.
Other serious gaps in your employer’s malpractice insurance include:
- Your employer’s policy provides no coverage if there’s a complaint filed against your license and you need to appear before the state board. When you have your own policy through NSO, License Protection is part of that coverage.
- If multiple parties are named as defendants in a malpractice lawsuit, your employer’s limits of liability may not adequately protect you. You may be responsible to pay the difference.
- Employer-provided coverage insures you only while you are on the job. Coverage through NSO insures you 24/7, on and off the job, and when you are between jobs.
Don’t risk everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve by putting your career, your license, and your financial security in the hands of someone whose interests may be at odds with your own. When you have your own individual coverage, your name is on the policy. We put your interests first.
What does my individual policy cover that my employer’s does not?
One of the most important coverage extension on an individual professional liability policy is License Protection. As of 2020, there were forty-seven times more licensing board actions against nurses than malpractice settlements or judgments.
* If you lose your license, you lose your ability to practice and earn an income.
The license protection portion of your policy provides $25,000 of coverage toward hiring an attorney who can help you craft a response letter to the state board and accompany you if there is a formal hearing. Sure, you could go alone, but that’s not a good idea. Having an attorney can increase your chances of keeping your license.
Other coverages included on your policy, that you don’t receive through your employer include:
- $25,000 Sexual Misconduct/Abuse
- $25,000 HIPAA Fines and Penalties
- $25,000 Defendant Expense Benefits
- $25,000 Workplace Violence
- $10,000 Deposition Representation
Another core benefit not included with your employer’s coverage
The best way to deal with malpractice is to avoid it altogether. NSO and CNA created a Learning Center that provides a variety of resources to help mitigate your malpractice risks and improve patient outcomes.
On the Learning Center at nso.com you will find:
- Accredited Courses from Lippincott that offer C.E. credits and a 10% premium discount**
- Webinars on current liability trends that offer tips for reducing your exposures
- Claim Reports that provide you with statistical data on where nurses are experiencing problems
- Legal Case Studies involving NSO nurses sued for malpractice, their stories and the incurred costs
- Articles on hot topics impacting nurses that include relevant risk management recommendations
- Videos from recent conference presentations featuring NSO and CNA risk managers and attorneys
Our risk education materials keep you informed on the ever-changing nurses’ medical malpractice landscape. Using our information can help you dodge potential malpractice lawsuits, thereby sparing you a lot of stress, embarrassment and expense.
*Singh, Harnam. National Practitioner Data Bank. Generated using the Data Analysis Tool at https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/analysistool Retrieved February 11, 2022.
**NSO insureds can receive a 10% non-cumulative risk management credit on your individual professional liability insurance premium for up to three years once you complete 6 contact hours in Focus on Malpractice Prevention modules or through NSO approved continuing education courses. Maximum discount limitations may apply. Nurses and nurse practitioners who complete the Focus on Malpractice Prevention modules can save up to 50% on the cost of their continuing education modules from LWW. LWW, part of Wolters-Kluwer Health. LWW offers the largest collection of continuing education courses available online and is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation (ANCC).