Professional
Liability Insurance Assignment
1. Do you
carry your own individual professional liability insurance?
a. Yes
i. Explain
your reasons for having liability insurance. How long you have had the
coverage? (5 points)
ii. Find
your policy and answer the questions for #2 a-e for your individual policy (10
points- 2 points per question)
iii. Feel
free to explore your employer’s coverage for you if you desire.
iv. Answer
question # 3 (10 points)
b. No
i. After
reading Chapter 10, do you see a need to change your current professional
liability insurance status? Analyze and
defend your position. (5 points)
ii. Explore
your employer’s coverage and answer question #2 a-e. (10 points- 2 points per question)
iii. Answer
question #3 (10 points).
2. If you do
not have your own coverage, explore your employer’s coverage for you as a
RN. You may need to talk to someone in
human resources, legal department, or risk management to determine this if you
do not remember or know this. If you
have your own coverage, find the answers in your policy for a-e.
a. What type
is it? Occurrence-based or claims-made?
b. List at
least 3 exclusions in your employer or own policy.
c. Does it
cover defense costs? If so, give a few
details.
d. Does the
policy provide supplementary payment such as lost days of work or investigation
time needed for the nurse-defendant? If so, give a few details.
e. Is Good
Samaritan activities covered and limits of liability included on your policy or
the institution’s policy?
3. Poll
nurses with whom you work or nurses that you know about the advantages of
professional liability insurance. Do those you interviewed have individual
policies? List the reasons given for having or not having individual policies.
What reasons were mentioned more frequently? Based on your readings, were their
reasons valid? Determine if any of the
nurses cited reasons related to ethical principles. Are the ethical rights of
patients or nurses better served if nurses have professional liability
insurance? Are there any ethical
principles that would negate having such coverage? – Write a summary paragraph
of your findings/views.
