Nurse Practitioner Malpractice Insurance protects nurse practitioners from claims linked to incorrect practices leading to bodily harm, medical expenses, property damage, and the cost of defending against related lawsuits.

It is common practice for many nurse practitioners to not carry this coverage and allow coverage to be provided by their employer or supervising physician on a shared limit basis. As a nurse practitioner, you can be personally responsible for a various number of work-related claims. You can be held accountable even if the fault isn’t directly attributed to you. Purchasing your own Medical Malpractice Insurance protects you against claims arising from either real or alleged mistakes or omissions, including negligence, that may occur within your professional job duties. Obtaining malpractice insurance is important for ALL active practitioners and broadening it with additional coverage options can help safeguard your career, assets, and future.

What is the Cost of Malpractice Insurance for Nurse Practitioners?

All nurse practitioners face different risks that can lead to different premiums. Typically, the more risk there is the more premium can be charged. It’s quite common to see about 4 levels of premium depending on your specialty. Assessing your exact needs through the application process is crucial for determining your requirements and ultimately your premium. While you should aim for the highest coverage you can afford, it’s recommended that you carry at least a minimum of $1 million per incident. The exact cost of your quote depends on several factors such as your loss experience, state and county of practice, and time spent on the job. If the hospital/practice you work for already provides Medical Malpractice Insurance. As a nurse practitioner, you might ask yourself if you need more. The truth is, even if your employer already offers coverage, it is always wise to consider obtaining your own insurance policy to help safeguard your own interests.

Four things to consider when purchasing malpractice insurance for nurse practitioners:

1. The Core Aim is Self-Protection - If several employees are implicated in the same claim, your employer's policy may lack enough limits to shield both you and your colleagues.
2. Change Jobs - If you switch jobs and end up facing a claim related to actions that happened during your prior employment, your previous company's policy may no longer cover you.
3. Lost Wages - Your employer's policy may not account for any wages lost during legal proceedings.
4. Coworker Disputes - Claims filed by other co-workers may not be covered by your company's insurance policy.

Simply put, having your own policy can provide personal protection to you in the event of a claim. With your own policy, you'll gain access to your own legal representation, and the policy's resources won't be shared among multiple policyholders.

There are 2 different types of policies: Occurrence and Claims-Made policies.

• Occurrence policy – Coverage is determined by when the incident occurred. This policy type is highly flexible. Liability is covered if the injury or damage happened during the policy period.
• Claims-made policy - Coverage hinges on when a claim is filed against you. This policy covers claims that are made within the policy period, potentially requiring you to have tail coverage to protect against claims post-policy expiration. 

Nurse Practitioner-Owned Practice

Given the trend of independent practice owned by nurse practitioners, you need to consider additional coverages. General Liability Insurance: General liability insurance focuses on physical risks such as bodily injury or property damage. It differs from professional liability insurance, which covers errors and omissions in service provision. When you own the practice you need to protect yourself against claims that arise out of risks not necessarily as the result of the practice of medicine. Many policies include this coverage. Cyber Liability Insurance: Cyber liability insurance covers costs related to recovering from data breaches, cyberattacks, or viruses compromising patient PII. It also encompasses legal claims arising from patient data breaches. Nurse practitioner group/clinic owners are advised to invest in cyber liability insurance to safeguard their businesses.