Social work isn’t one of those professions most people associate with lawsuits. After all, social workers are there to help people, so it seems unlikely on the surface that they’d be sued. However, malpractice lawsuits can happen to social workers, too. So below we’ll look at the scenarios where social work malpractice insurance comes into play, more on what it is, and where you can find it.
- The 6 Best Providers of Social Work Malpractice Insurance
- Why Do Social Workers Need Malpractice Insurance?
- What is Social Work Malpractice Insurance?
- How Much does Social Work Malpractice Insurance Cost?
- Do Social Work Students Need Malpractice Insurance?
The 6 Best Social Work Malpractice Insurance Companies
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing several quotes online
- Berxi: Best for a fast online quote
- NASW Assurance Services: Best for affordable rates
- HSPO: Best for affordable rates from a popular healthcare malpractice insurance provider
- CM&F Group: 2nd best for affordable rates
- Simply Business: Best brokerage firm to work with to find cheap malpractice insurance coverage
CoverWallet: Best for comparing several quotes online
CoverWallet is a digital insurance broker. They procure quotes from insurance companies they partner with to bring you two or three online quotes to choose from. This makes it very easy to comparison shop, although sometimes CoverWallet will say they have to get back to you in a day or so, especially if your company is unique in some way or if your insurance needs are complex.
This quote is for a social worker living in New Jersey, with about $85,000 a year in revenue.
Berxi: Best for a fast online quote
Berxi is usually easy to get a quote from, and their policies are flexible and offer different coverage options. Berxi is a part of Berkshire Hathaway, but they focus on medical malpractice coverage and errors & omissions insurance. Error & Omissions insurance is the same as medical malpractice insurance, just for different professions.
This quote is for our social worker in New Jersey. As you can see, it’s easy to adjust the amount of coverage, just by clicking a button.
NASW Assurance Services: Best for affordable rates
NASW features liability coverage designed specifically for social workers. They also offer a free risk management helpline, so you can talk to someone before a lawsuit is filed, plus legal defense support. They also offer discounted rates for students, and members of NASW also qualify for a discount. You can fill out a form online, which leads you to a purchase agreement.
Please keep in mind that the above is not the final quote for any social worker yet. That was just the estimated quote for all social workers. In order to get your final quote, you have to finish the application online, which might turn out to be much more expensive or cheaper than the overall estimate above.
HSPO: Best for affordable rates from a popular healthcare malpractice insurance provider
HSPO is one of the largest providers of insurance for the healthcare providers such as social workers, counselors, nurses, and other professionals. They insure over one million such providers and insure more than 40 professions.
It’s easy to get a quote: just answer some basic questions, including what population you serve and what the focus of your practice is, and you’ll have a quote within just a few minutes. If you’d like to purchase the policy, you can do that online as well. Students get a discounted rate.
CM&F Group: 2nd best for affordable rates
CM&F Group provides medical malpractice insurance for over 150 different healthcare professions. Coverage options are up to $2 million per claim, and license defense coverage, HIPAA coverage, and sexual misconduct defense in all included. They have excellent customer reviews, and getting a quote was very easy.
Simply Business: Best brokerage to find cheap malpractice insurance
If you are looking for cheap and affordable malpractice insurance, you may want to consider Simply Business.
Simply Business is a broker specializing in small business insurance. They work with many carriers with a focus to help you find low-cost coverage, including malpractice insurance. They vet the carriers that they work with carefully to ensure that all of them have excellent financial ratings. They select the carriers that can offer low-cost coverage even if these carriers may not be well-known and small businesses may not have access to them otherwise.
Pros:
- Easy to get and compare several quotes online
- Able to get quotes from A-rated carriers which you may not be aware of and offer low cost
- Knowledgeable agents that are available to help you along the process
Cons:
- If you prefer a particular carrier that Simply Business doesn’t work with, you may need to look elsewhere
- Have to file a claim directly with the carriers
Why Do Social Workers Need Malpractice Insurance?
Lawsuits can happen in any profession, including social work. According to Social Work Today, social workers could be subpoenaed as part of custody battles. Those who provide consultation or supervision could also be at risk for a lawsuit.
Social work insurer NASW Assurance Services lists social work malpractice insurance as a type of professional liability insurance. Malpractice insurance, as a whole, protects you when you face legal action because of negligent acts or perceived and actual errors or omissions on your part. If someone thought a social worker failed to provide adequate services or feels that social worker gave poor counseling, that social worker could be at risk for a lawsuit.
Social Work Today also lists some unfortunate times when social workers have been sued. For instance, a lawsuit can happen when a client commits suicide and family members feel the social worker did not adequately follow procedure to prevent it.
Another social worker was sued when they mistakenly released client information during a custody battle. Two of the social worker’s clients were going through a divorce, and one parent had their attorney subpoena social work records on the other parent in hopes that they could get negative information to be used in the custody battle. The social worker released them, not knowing the NASW Code of Ethics, stating that records could only be released upon obtaining permission of the person the records were on or court order.
It’s no secret that social workers are under constant heavy caseloads. So even the most well-meaning of social workers could simply overlook a code. Or in worst cases, a client could come to harm, despite the best efforts of the social worker, and someone could claim damages. Social work malpractice insurance can help protect against these cases.
>>MORE: Best Professional Liability Insurance Companies for Small Businesses
What is Social Work Malpractice Insurance?
According to insurer Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO), social work malpractice insurance gives you legal representation and indemnity coverage if you are named in a lawsuit.
It’s common to see coverage from up to $1 million for each occurrence and $3 million for an annual aggregate. Some of the other benefits you may find on a plan include:
- License protection: In the case that you need to defend your license to the state board
- Defendant expense benefit: Covers lost wages and expense as the trial progresses
- Deposition representation: Covers you for costs if you must testify on a case you are not named on
- Personal liability coverage: For claims that happen at your home unrelated to work
- Defense attorney may be provided
Plans could also have coverage for other issues like assault, personal injury, medical payments, damage to property, sexual misconduct, coverage for HIPAA violation fines and expenses from rendering first aid.
Another important part of social work malpractice insurance is that it can come as occurrence or claims-made. Occurrence covers you when the malpractice event happens during specified active dates and is not tied to when the claim is made. Claims-made covers you as long the claim and the malpractice event happen within specific dates.
A main benefit of buying your own policy is that it is portable, like HPSO’s policies. So if you move, change jobs, volunteer or have a second job, you have coverage. You also have additional coverage in case an employer does not offer enough coverage.
>>MORE: What is Medical Malpractice Insurance and Where to Find It?
How Much does Social Work Malpractice Insurance Cost?
We are able to get a quote from HPSO or Healthcare Providers Service Organization, a popular insurance provider for healthcare workers. A malpractice insurance policy for a self-employed clinical social worker in Florida who is not a recent graduate is $370 a year or $31 a month.
If the person is employed, the annual premium is quoted at $151 a year only. And if the person is a recent graduate, ie. in the past 12 months, the quote is only $63 a year.
| Different types of clinical social workers | Annual cost |
| Recent clinical social work graduate of the past 12 months | $63/year |
| Employed clinical social worker | $151/year |
| Self-employed clinical social worker | $370/year |
As you can see, cost varies significantly across companies. In order to get the cheapest cost for your situation, you need to shop around with a few providers. You can also work with a digital broker like CoverWallet or Simply Business. They are able to provide you with several quotes in one place from the companies that they partner with. This will make it easier and more convenient for you to get and compare several quotes to find the cheapest social work malpractice insurance policy.
>>MORE: Nursing Malpractice Insurance: Top 4 Providers, Cost, and Coverage
>>MORE: Malpractice Insurance Costs for Different Professions
>>MORE: Dental Malpractice Insurance: Cost and Top 5 Providers
Do Social Work Students Need Malpractice Insurance?
Yes, you do. In the course of your study, you will be practicing your social work skills by working part-time with some clients. You are at risk of being sued by clients when bad things happen and clients believe that they happen due to your negligence. Whether it is correct or not, without a social work malpractice insurance policy, the law suit will cost you a lot of money for attorney fees, court costs, and loss of income.
As a social work student, you need to obtain a malpractice insurance for students. They shouldn’t be very expensive. You can choose to buy it from a digital broker like CoverWallet or Simply Business who will allow you to compare several online quotes easily or from a specialized provider like NASW Assurance Services or HPSO.
>>MORE: Top 10 Malpractice Insurance Companies
Final Thoughts
While social workers aren’t known for attracting high-profile lawsuits, that doesn’t mean the profession is risk-free. Someone could still claim damages from misconduct or errors and omissions. That’s where it makes sense to find social work malpractice insurance. You can find a general professional liability plan or products specific to social workers.
