$44 Million Paid in Nurse Practitioner Liability Claims over Past Five Years, According to Latest Report from NSO and CNA

HATBORO, Penn. – To coincide with Nurse Practitioner Week, Nurses Service Organization, a division of Aon Affinity, and their insurance carrier CNA, have released the health care industry resource, Nurse Practitioner Liability Update 2007-2011: A Three-Part Approach. Aon Affinity is the affinity business of Aon plc (NYSE: AON).

The report contains an analysis of nurse practitioner malpractice claims and license protection defense claims over a five-year period, along with selected highlights from NSO’s 2012 Nurse Practitioner Work Profile Survey.

“The report helps nurse practitioners identify the professional liability claim patterns and trends most likely to affect their practices,” said NSO president Michael Loughran. “When you compare our past claim reports, it becomes evident that the cost of nurse practitioner professional liability claims has been steadily rising.”

The average malpractice indemnity payment (judgments and settlements) for the five-year study period has increased 19 percent since the 2009 NSO/CNA nurse practitioner claims analysis, rising from $186,282 to $221,852. The average cost to defend a lawsuit also rose to $63,792.

Highlights of the new report include:

• More than $44 million was paid in indemnity and expenses for professional liability claims on behalf of nurse practitioners during the five-year study period.
• Sixty-one percent of licensing board actions against nurse practitioners resulted in ‘no action,’ while 3.1 percent of licensing complaints resulted in the end of the nurse practitioner’s career.
• Nearly 73 percent of survey respondents involved in professional liability claims have worked for more than 11 years, confirming findings that the longer a nurse practitioner is in practice, the risk of experiencing a claim increases.

The report also includes risk management recommendations and a self-assessment checklist created to help nurse practitioners reduce their liability exposure.

“By sharing claim information, identifying causes of loss and incorporating recommendations into the document, we can help enhance the risk management and patient safety knowledge of the nurse practitioner community,” said Bruce Dmytrow, vice president of CNA Specialty Risk Control.

The entire Nurse Practitioner Liability Update 2007-2011: A Three-Part Approach report is available at www.nso.com/npclaimreport2012. To obtain hard copies, please contact David Griffiths at david.griffiths@aon.com or 215.773.4129.


Read additional NSO claims studies: www.nso.com/nursing-resources/claim-studies.jsp
Follow NSO on Facebook: www.facebook.com/nsocares


About NSO
Nurses Service Organization is a registered trade name of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc.; (AR 244489); in CA, MN & OK , AIS Affinity Insurance Agency, Inc. (CA 0795465); in CA, Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., (0G94493), Aon Direct Insurance Administrator and Berkely Insurance Agency and in NY and NH, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency. NSO is the largest provider of individual nurses’ professional liability insurance in the U.S., serving more than 600,000 nurses and 27,000 nurse practitioners. NSO has been answering the insurance needs of the nursing profession since 1976. For more information visit www.nso.com.

About Aon Affinity
Aon Affinity is a trade name for Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. Aon Affinity combines the specialized knowledge of affinity program management with the extensive resources of a global company to help clients achieve their goals. With an innovative approach to program strategy, from the design of products and services to the delivery of the marketing message, Affinity offers full-service capabilities, technical expertise and industry knowledge to deliver value to clients. Visit http://www.aon.com/affinity for more information.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 62,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world’s best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon’s global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

About CNA
Serving businesses and professionals since 1897, CNA is the country’s 7th largest commercial insurance writer and the 13th largest property and casualty company. CNA’s insurance products include standard commercial lines, specialty lines, surety, marine and other property and casualty coverages. CNA’s services include risk management, information services, underwriting, risk control and claims administration. For more information, please visit CNA at http://www.cna.com. CNA is a registered trademark of CNA Financial Corporation.


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