
Nurses provide medical care to patients, often in hospitals and nursing homes, but sometimes in the form of home care as well. Due to the nature of their job, nurses are vulnerable to certain types of risks that are common in the industry.
Take, for example, a situation where a nurse gives a patient a particular medication prescribed by the doctor. After a while, the patient starts to have an adverse reaction to the drug. Even though the nurse was only following orders, they still get sued by the patient’s family. Given that legal fees and Court costs could go past thousands of dollars, such an event could permanently affect a nurse’s life.
Insurance coverage can protect your career and finances by providing you with the financial range you need to protect yourself against these risks.
Why Do Nurses Need Insurance?
Aside from the risk of being potentially sued by a disgruntled client and their family, a nurse can also encounter other risks. Say you face a health problem yourself and can’t afford the medical care needed to get better. Healthcare insurance can protect you in these circumstances.
Alternatively, say you offer home care only. You’ll need to drive to patients’ homes to fulfil your duty. In this situation, having auto insurance can be a great idea.
Insurance generally protects nurses against the most common types of risks encountered in the industry. When you have insurance coverage, your insurance carrier will help you with the associated procedures. You’ll also receive financial coverage up to the amount designated in your policy. Often, this is more than enough to cover the costs associated with various risks.
There are several types of insurance for nurses that you can consider getting. Here are the five most valuable types of insurance for nurses.
Five Types of Insurance for Nurses
Nurses can consider investing in insurance policies that protect them from various risks associated with their profession and industry. These are five types of insurances nurses need:
- Medical Malpractice Insurance
Medical malpractice insurance is a type of liability insurance that protects nurses if they get sued by a client. This insurance policy covers legal claims related to bodily injury, property damage, as well as any medical expenses incurred. Personal injury, such as emotional or mental distress, can also be covered under medical malpractice insurance.
However, it is essential to remember that this insurance policy doesn’t cover any sexual harassment lawsuits. Similarly, any misconduct that can be deemed criminal, leading to criminal cases, is not covered under this policy.
This policy covers associated court costs, legal fees, settlement costs, punitive fines or compensation, and medical costs. It should also be remembered that this amount cannot exceed the amount that the policy covers.
- Indemnity Insurance for Nurses
Nurse indemnity insurance is individual liability insurance that can protect you against risks not covered in medical malpractice insurance. Some of these risks include libel, slander, assault, depositions, first aid costs, as well as license protection.
The need for individual insurance arises because even as a full-time nurse, you may often find yourself working under a contract. At the same time, even if your employer offers insurance coverage for you, they may not cover every risk associated with the industry. Hospitals, for example, generally tend to cover healthcare costs for their nurses. But this doesn’t extend to personal liability.
Nurse indemnity insurance will protect you against situations covered under the policy and enable you to take legal action to protect yourself. The prohibitive costs associated with such lawsuits often hold nurses back from legally protecting themselves. Nurse indemnity insurance can cover you from that.
- Healthcare Insurance for Nurses
You may or may not get healthcare coverage, depending on where you work. If you work in the home care industry, for example, then you won’t always have access to free healthcare. This can be extremely dangerous, given that you also tend to be at higher risk of falling sick.
Nurses who tend to sick patients, especially should contagious diseases are involved, should consider getting healthcare insurance. This becomes especially important if you work in the home care industry and can’t rely on a hospital or nursing home to help you. Medical costs can be extremely high, but you get protected against moat healthcare expenses with healthcare insurance.
If you’re a nurse who doesn’t have access to health insurance, consider investing in a policy that provides you with coverage. There are various types of health insurance available, meaning that you’ll always be able to find something within your budget.
4. Commercial Auto Insurance
Another type of insurance policy that you should consider getting is commercial auto insurance. This can be extremely useful if you find yourself driving to different places for work. Nurses who provide home care and those who need to move with their team for mobile health care can all consider this insurance policy.
This insurance policy protects you if you have a car accident. It can be costly to repair a car. And this insurance policy covers you from having to pay for those costs. Since transportation is essential for your work, this insurance policy can protect you.
- Data Breach Insurance
If you work in-home care, or even if you work in a hospital, your data and the client’s data can be exposed at any time unless protected. Data related to healthcare is considered confidential, and any leaks can lead to you getting sued. Even if this isn’t your fault, you could still be legally sued in Court.
To prevent this from happening and ensure that you find financial coverage should you encounter such risks, this insurance policy can help you. It covers legal costs, as well as the costs associated with letting people know their data has been breached, and more.
With data breach insurance, you don’t have to worry about your career if a cyber security threat does happen. With the medical industry becoming increasingly focused on adopting innovative solutions, this risk is increasing. Many hospitals and nursing homes employ state-of-the-art modern technology to speed up internal processes and treat clients better.
If you have this insurance for nurses, then you’re financially covered if you get sued for such an event.
Conclusion
With these five types of insurance, you can rest assured that you will feel safe in your industry. Protect yourself and your career with these five types of insurance policies. If you want to know more about insurance for nurses, then click here.