Nursing Malpractice Insurance in Vermont

What Vermont Nurses Need Nurse Insurance?

In general, most nurses that practice in Vermont stand to benefit from the protection that nurse insurance provides. This extends to nurses at all levels of nursing, including:

• Nurse practitioners
• Registered nurses
• Licensed professional nurses

Additionally, nurses frequently need the coverage irrespective of what academic degree they attained, where they work or what specialty they’re in. Nurses in primary care facilities, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, clinics and hospitals can all be named in lawsuits (and this isn’t a comprehensive list of workplace settings).

Do Employers Provide Malpractice Coverage for Their Nurses?

Many employers do provide malpractice coverage for employed nurses, but there are multiple details to consider before relying solely on an employer-provided policy.

First, an employer may simply not carry as much coverage as nurses would like them to. Even if an employer’s aggregate limit appears substantially high, keep in mind that this limit may have to be spread across the organization and other providers if there’s a major claim. Nurses should be certain that they’re comfortable with the amount of coverage provided.

Second, nurses who are independent contractors — and not technically employees — might not receive coverage from an employer’s policy. Subcontractors aren’t treated the same as employees, and therefore should carefully check whether an employer’s coverage extends to them.

Third, any employer-provided coverage that nurses do have is usually limited to when working for that particular employer. The coverage is unlikely to extend to side gigs or pro bono work that a nurse might do. These efforts might be covered by another organization’s policy, or they may require an individually purchased one.

All three of these items are issues that an experienced insurance agent can help nurses sort through.