MALPRACTICE INSURANCE FOR INDIVIDUAL PROVIDERS
Nutritionist

What is Professional Liability Insurance for Nutritionists?

Professional liability insurance is a safety net. It’s an insurance policy written specifically to protect your career and assets by insuring the services you provide against a lawsuit.

Why take out your own Nutritionist Insurance Policy (even if you’re a W2)?

As awareness and treatment for obesity in Americans increases, the work of Nutritionists has become more and more common in schools, corporations, and long-term care facilities. Because Nutritionists work directly with individuals in addressing these and similar health concerns, it’s important for you to maintain Professional Liability Insurance to make sure you’re personally covered from a potential claim or lawsuit.

Let’s look at one of the most common services that a Nutritionist provides, creating an individualized nutrition plan for a client. In a typical situation, the client will notify you of any health conditions that may be instrumental in devising your plan, but what if the client fails to do so and you unknowingly exacerbate their condition? An example of this could be found in client who suffers from hypertension and requires a diet very low in sodium. If they don’t tell you beforehand and experience higher blood pressure after your services, they may potentially feel the need for retribution. Whether a client’s claim has merit or not, Nutritionist insurance will provide unlimited legal defense and pay the amount the court awards to your client up to the limits of your policy.

Why is having an individual policy of your own important? The clinic you work out of may have their own insurance policy and it may provide coverage for W2 employees; however, if multiple employees are named in a lawsuit, the policy defense costs will be shared amongst everyone named including the facility, potentially leaving you without the necessary coverage to pay all of the associated attorney fees.

Secondly, if you are an independent contractor at a clinic, you may not be included on their policy. While it’s common for W-2 employees to be named under the group policy, contractors should not assume coverage. Getting individual Nutritionist insurance policy is easy and can be as low as $82 for the year.

Thirdly, a clinic’s policy will not cover work you do on your own outside of the studio. Having an individual policy will cover private services you may provide outside of the clinic.