Malpractice Insurance? Do I need my own?

[kaylyn]

I am a soon to be RN. I have heard very little about malpractice insurance. Do I need to get it before I start working from an independent or can I wait a little bit to see what my agency covers? Any information would be helpful. Thank you.

[grapejam88]

There are pros and cons on this and you can find this topic in every nursing forum. If you searched this forum you will find a thread. Personally, I have heard every employer tell me that I should NOT buy my own policy to avoid the "deep pocket" syndrome if hit with a lawsuit. However, then I read threads in nursing forums where nurses have been affected by lawsuits and the advice is often "get your own policy and don't depend on your employer". It's difficult to know what the right thing to do is, so I err on the side of too much coverage and went with my own policy.

[nursinghumor]

For the $80-100 per year it costs, I'd buy it for the extra coverages it provides. Like paying for an attorney if you're called before the state board, Good Samaritan benefits, etc.

I hope I'll never be sued, but if I am, I want an insurance company attorney working on my behalf. Having a policy pays for that in advance. You figure, either way, you'll need an attorney. If you wait till you need one, you'll be paying $5000-10,000 legal costs out of your own pocket.

I'd rather pay for the policy now.

Andrew Lopez, RN
http://www.4nursing.com