What Is Tail Insurance for Nurse Practitioners?

Your nurse practitioner malpractice insurance policy can provide legal and financial protection if a patient files a claim against you. It’s meant to cover your expenses if a patient or their representative alleges that your mistake caused them bodily injury or unexpected extra medical expenses. OK, so you’ve got that down. So what is tail insurance for a nurse practitioner? We’ll explain.

In this article, we break down why a nurse practitioner might need tail insurance, what protections it offers, how to know whether you need it, and when you might consider getting it. We also show you how to find the best price on your nurse practitioner tail coverage.

What Is Tail Insurance for Nurse Practitioners?

Let’s start with an example. Anna is an NP who has always renewed her claims-made nurse practitioner malpractice insurance policy year after year. At age 65, Anna decides she’s going to retire and enjoy some well-earned relaxation, so she lets her malpractice policy expire. Six months after her last day, she is served with a claim for a patient she saw during her final year of practice. Is she covered by her old claims-made policy? Unfortunately, no.

The reality is that sometimes patients or their families don’t file claims until months — or even over a year — after an event occurs. That’s why tail insurance for nurse practitioners exists. It extends the reporting period for your original policy, even if you’ve changed careers, stopped working, or switched insurers.

Is tail coverage only for claims-made policies?

Tail coverage for a nurse practitioner is an extended reporting period of a claims-made malpractice insurance policy. It’s sometimes called an “extended reporting period” because it gives you a longer amount of time to report claims filed after your policy changes, lapses, or gets cancelled. But the triggering event must have first occurred on or after the retroactive date and before the end of the policy period.

Sound complicated? The simple answer is: Yes, tail coverage is only for claims-made policies!

Tail coverage is needed only if an NP has a claims-made policy, not an occurrence policy (RN policies are always occurrence policies at Berxi). Why? Occurrence policies can cover you for an incident during the policy period no matter when the claim is filed.

If you’re an NP and you have an occurrence policy, you should be covered for a claim, subject to the terms and conditions of your policy, as long as your policy is in effect when the incident occurs. Whereas, if you have a claims-made policy, you would be covered for a claim, subject to the terms and conditions of your policy, only if the claim is filed while the policy is active.

In the scenario above, because NP Anna had a claims-made policy at the time of the incident and the policy expired before the claim was filed, Anna would be financially responsible for expenses like legal fees and settlements. Plus, she would have to find her own legal representation.

What does NP tail coverage include?

Nurse practitioner tail coverage extends the reporting period on a claims-made policy for as long as you need it — even forever, if you want. If you report a claim during the extended reporting period, you get all the same coverage as you had under your original policy, including:

• Expenses if you’re found liable (known as “damages”)
• Legal defense costs outside your limits of liability
• Court fees, including expert testimony
• Pre- and post-judgment interest
• Settlements
• Reimbursement of wages lost to attend legal proceedings
• Travel expenses
• Reputation or crisis management fees
• HIPAA defense costs
• Expenses for licensing board protection defense
• Good Samaritan coverage

Do Nurse Practitioners Need Tail Coverage?

You should consider purchasing tail coverage any time you purchase a new claims-made policy or make any kind of change to your current policy. Keep in mind that claims-made policies typically include 60 days of automatic tail coverage for nurse practitioners to allow you some time to purchase longer tail coverage.

Examples of situations where you might want tail coverage as a nurse practitioner:

• You decide to take a career break to go back to school for more training. Tail insurance can cover you until you return to work.
• You retire and don’t plan to go back to nurse practitioner work. When your claims-made policy ends, tail coverage kicks in to handle any claims that patients may file after you leave.
• You change your policy type from claims-made to occurrence.
• You decide not to renew your claims-made policy with your current insurer. Tail insurance can cover the gap until you purchase a new policy from another provider.

How long should NP tail coverage last?

Insurers usually offer different term lengths for tail coverage, so you can choose how long to extend the reporting period. You might want to consider your state’s statute of limitations on claims when deciding how much coverage to get. Patients usually can’t file claims against you once the limitations period expires, so your tail coverage may need to last only as long as the statute is in effect. (Berxi offers an optional unlimited extended reported period. If this interests you, consult with one of our product specialists.)

The only time you may not need tail coverage is if you buy a new claims-made policy with what’s called a retroactive date or “retro date,” which is typically the date of your first claims-made policy, as long as you purchased your policies consistently — and without any breaks in time. But a policy with a retro date won’t cover you if someone files a claim against you for something that happened before the retro date.

It’s best to purchase tail coverage if you’re about to cancel your policy and aren’t sure when you’ll buy a new one.

How Much Does Tail Coverage for Nurse Practitioners Cost?

Typically, tail coverage for a claims-made policy you had for one to two years is the same price as the annual cost of your policy. If you had your policy for five or more years, you can expect to pay twice the annual cost.

For example, if you had a malpractice insurance policy that cost $1,500 per year and kept the same coverage for seven years before you bought tail coverage, your tail coverage would cost around $3,000 per year.

You might pay more or less for tail coverage depending on:

• Your location
• The types of care and services you offer
• The number of hours you work (full time or part time)
• Your policy’s limits of liability
• Your claims history
• Whether you buy through a broker or directly from an insurance provider
• The length of time the tail insurance extends beyond the end of your policy

How Do I Get Nurse Practitioner Tail Coverage?

You can buy tail coverage for a claims-made policy before it expires or within a certain time period after you cancel it. If you currently have a malpractice policy, check with your insurer about options and pricing. If you want to purchase a new policy, compare coverages and pricing from different companies to find the best option for your situation.

At Berxi, nurse practitioners with an existing malpractice policy have the option of adding tail insurance as an endorsement, extending the reporting period of the original policy. This tail coverage add-on can cost between $1,500 to $3,000, as a one-time payment.

Because the price depends on how long you’ve had your current policy, the longer you’ve been insured, the more expensive it will be. Plus, Berxi policies have no deductible, so you never have to worry about out-of-pocket expenses for claims that fall within your limits of liability. If you know you are going to let your existing policy expire, contact the product specialist team at Berxi and ask about securing tail coverage.

Ensure You’re Covered With Nurse Practitioner Tail Coverage From Berxi

Whether your life circumstances change or you just want to take a break from nursing, tail insurance gives you the peace of mind of knowing you won’t be financially responsible for covered malpractice claims related to care you provided in the past, as long as you were insured at the time. You can return to practice, switch careers, or retire with the confidence that you’ll have the legal backing you need to handle any claims case.

Berxi offers tail insurance to existing NP malpractice insurance customers as an add-on to their claims-made policies. Every policy is backed by the financial strength ratings of A++ from AM Best and AA+ from Standard & Poor’s that come from working with a company that’s part of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. If interested in getting a specialized quote for tail insurance, call a Berxi product specialist at 833-24-BERXI (833-242-3794).

And if interested in getting a quote for malpractice insurance, you can get a quick quote today.

 

Image courtesy of iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

Image courtesy of iStock.com/Thicha Satapitanon

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Berxi™ or Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company. This article (subject to change without notice) is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute professional advice. Click here to read our full disclaimer