Professional liability insurance is a must for most healthcare workers. If you work in a clinic or a hospital, you may think you’re covered under the hospital’s insurance. Keep in mind that the hospital’s malpractice insurance exists to protect the hospital, not the employees. They might not provide enough coverage if you personally are named in a lawsuit. And healthcare is a sensitive field. You’re dealing with people at their most vulnerable, so emotions can run high. The best thing to do is get your own policy. Coverage is not that expensive for most professions, and it’s certainly less than what a lawsuit would cost.
Hundreds of insurance companies offer professional liability insurance coverage for healthcare workers, across all specialties. Here are the top seven companies we recommend:
- Simply Business: Best for comparing several quotes online
- MedPro Group: Best for comprehensive coverage
- Proliability: Best for excellent customer service ratings
- Nurse Service Organization (NSO): Best for nurses
- Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO): Best for independent healthcare practitioners
- The Doctors Company: Best for doctors and dentists
- CoverWallet: Best for healthcare workers who also own their practices
Simply Business: Best for comparing several quotes online
Simply Business primarily provides business insurance to small business owners. However, they partner with over 20 companies and can find professional liability insurance, as well as other types of insurance you might need.
Pros:
- Easy to get a quote from multiple companies
- Easy to compare several quotes online
- Simple, straightforward process
- Great consumer satisfaction rating on Truspilot
Cons:
- No weekend availability for customer service or live chat
- Doesn’t handle claims
- No mobile app
Here’s a quote for a therapist working from home Colorado that we got from Simply Business:
MedPro Group: Best for comprehensive coverage
MedPro is the number one provider of malpractice insurance, with over 240,000 customers. They have a 90% trial win rate. Also, retiring physicians get free tail coverage. They have a great library of resources for preventing lawsuits in the first place
Pros:
- Owned by Berkshire Hathaway, so they have excellent financial resources
- You can refuse to settle a claim if you don’t agree
- Extensive online resources
- Cyber liability insurance is included (up to $50,000)
Cons:
- Huge company: may feel impersonal at times
Proliability: Best for excellent customer service ratings
Proliability provides coverage for a wide range of healthcare professions: everything from athletic trainers to surgeons. Customer service reviews are excellent.
Pros:
- Up to $5 million in coverage
- Professional association discounts are available
- Student discounts available
Cons:
- Only professional liability insurance is offered
- Other business insurance is not available
Nurse Service Organization (NSO): Best for nurses
Developed for nurses, by nurses, NSO offers low-cost professional liability insurance. You can even get a quote online, and NSO is reputed to be easy to work with.
Pros:
- Designed for nurses
- Student discounts are available
- Low premiums
- They also have life, health, and dental insurance for nurses
Cons:
- Coverage is limited to $1 million
- Only covers nurses
HPSO: Best for independent healthcare practitioners
HPSO covers a huge variety of healthcare professions. They have a quick and simple quote process; they ask you what you do and what state you do it in, and then you get a quote. You take your insurance with you if you switch jobs.
If you are an independent healthcare professional and affiliated with several clinics or hospitals, you may want to consider HPSO. It doesn’t matter where you work, your HPSO policy will cover you the same.
Pros:
- Over 200 healthcare professions served
- Multiple professional association discounts
- Students can get a policy for 60% off
Cons:
- Policies limited to $3 million in coverage
- Doctors can get an online quote, but a representative will call you to ask questions
The Doctors Company: Best for doctors and dentists
The Doctors Company offers highly customizable policies for doctors and dentists. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or part of a hospital system, the Doctors Company will have the perfect policy for you.
Pros:
- Owned by Doctors, for Doctors
- Free tail coverage for members who’ve been with them for over 5 years
- MediGuard is included
Cons:
- Only for doctors and dentists
- You must speak with a rep before getting coverage
CoverWallet: Best for healthcare workers who also own their practices
CoverWallet usually works great for business insurance. Therapists and social workers should have no trouble getting a reasonably priced quote. And if you run your own business, it’s easy to add other coverages such as general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and workers comp insurance to earn good discounts. They also make it very easy to simple to manage all of your policies in one place.
Pros:
- Easy to get a quote
- Great for practitioners who also own their practices
- Easy to obtain all business insurance policies to protect your practice and manage them all in one place
- Easy and fast to compare several quotes
Cons:
- Quotes are not always instant
- Some customer service reviews are poor
How much does professional liability insurance cost for healthcare workers?
Professional liability insurance costs vary significantly by healthcare specialties. A surgeon can pay up to tens of thousands of dollars for a professional liability insurance policy while a nurse can pay just a few hundred a year.
Costs also vary by several other factors such as your years of experience, your history of claims, your scope of practice, even your credit score, etc. It is unlikely that two similar practitioners will have the same premiums on their professional liability policy.
Whatever number that you may get from any website, these are just the reference numbers and are unlikely to be your final premiums. Be sure to shop around with several insurance companies or work with a broker like Simply Business or CoverWallet to compare several quotes to find the cheapest one for you.
How to find cheap healthcare worker professional liability insurance?
Healthcare worker professional liability or malpractice insurance is expensive. It can be a significant expense of your practice. You can follow several tips below to reduce its costs:
- Maintain a good practice record
- Follow the procedures and the standard protocol of your specialty practice
- Maintain perfect documentation of your practice
- Last but not least, be sure to get and compare at least 3 quotes before making your final decision.
Professional liability insurance for nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and nursing students
Nurse Practitioners are responsible for a great deal of patient care. They oversee, diagnose, order medical tests and prescribe medications for patients. Failure to diagnose is the most common reason nurse practitioners are sued, with about 32.8% of all the malpractice claims against them falling into this category. Read our article on “The 6 Best Malpractice Insurance Companies for Nurse Practitioners.”
Professional liability insurance for physician assistants
Physician Assistants can do almost everything the doctor can do, except surgery. They work under the supervision of a doctor, but they have a lot of autonomy. The most common reason PAs are sued is for failing to consult with the doctor. Lawsuits against PAs are on the rise, so you should strongly consider protecting yourself and the degree you worked so hard to get. Read more in our article, “The 6 Best Malpractice Insurance Companies for Physician Assistants.”
Professional liability insurance for pharmacists
Pharmacists, like other healthcare professionals, are held liable if they make a mistake that causes harm to others as they are practicing their job as a pharmacist. Three common areas of mistakes pharmacists are sued for are wrong drugs; wrong strength; and wrong instruction. If a pharmacist makes a mistake in any of these three areas and that causes harm to the patient, they can be sued. Learn more details and our recommendations on the best providers of professional liability insurance for pharmacists in our article the best malpractice insurance for pharmacists.
Malpractice insurance for physical therapists
Physical therapists are responsible for getting injured people back on their feet and back to their normal activities. They frequently have their hands on patients, and this can lead to misunderstandings or even making an injury worse. In one case, the therapist was sued when the TENS unit caused third-degree burns on a patient. You can read more about malpractice insurance for physical therapists in our article.
Malpractice insurance for therapists, counselors, and psychologists
Therapists, counselors, and psychologists work with people at their most vulnerable. Because their emotions are laid bare, therapists have a huge responsibility. Is it any wonder that therapists and counselors are often faced with lawsuits? Only 2% or so of psychologists will face a malpractice suit, but about 40% have to face state licensing board complaints. And many more than 2% are threatened with lawsuits. It’s best to be prepared. Read more in “The Top 5 Malpractice Insurance Companies for Therapists, Counselors, and Psychologists.”
Professional liability insurance for dental hygienists
Dental hygienists are not sued very often, but it does happen. From 2002 to 2012, there were 2,260 lawsuits filed against dental hygienists. Malpractice insurance for dental hygienists isn’t very expensive, and it could protect your career. Read more in our article “The 4 Best Malpractice Insurance Companies for Dental Hygienists.”
Professional liability insurance for dentists
Dentists are sued more often than dental hygienists, most often for failing to identify oral cancer or for incorrectly administering anesthesia. Dentists have a lot of responsibility, and you don’t want to put your career at risk by not having malpractice insurance. Read more in our article, “The Top 6 Providers of Dental Malpractice Insurance.”
Professional liability insurance or malpractice insurance for surgical assistants
A surgical assistant works in an operating room assisting the surgeon and others. Surgical assistants can do such tasks as helping to control bleeding, closing wounds, and sterilizing equipment. What if the physician accused you of failing to sterilize a surgical instrument? There are so many things that can go wrong during surgery. Read more in our article about surgical assistants.
Malpractice insurance for aesthetics
An aesthetician provides skin care to clients. These can include chemical peels, microdermabrasion, laser hair removal, etc. Since skin is so sensitive and there are strong chemicals involved, things can easily go wrong. There are cases of clients suing aestheticians for scarring them or burning them. Read more about malpractice insurance for aestheticians in our article.
