Mental health counselor insurance

Liability insurance for mental health counselors

Cause an accident, make a mistake or give the wrong advice and you could find yourself facing a legal claim. And how will that make you feel?

As a mental health counselor you don’t need us to tell you the toll it will take on your own mental health, as well as your finances. Luckily there’s mental health counselor insurance.

Even if a claim is groundless, it protects your work, your bank balance and your reputation by taking care of the costs. So why not look after your own well-being for once?

• Who needs mental health counselor insurance?

  You could be helping patients work through addiction, relationship or anger issues, depression or stress. Whether you run a private practice, or treat patients for an organization, there’s always a chance something could go wrong.

  What if a client walking in for an appointment, trips over the low coffee table in your waiting-room? She breaks her arm and needs hospital treatment. Without mental health counselor insurance you’ll have to pay her medical bills. Then there’ll be legal fees and compensation if she decides to sue.

  Or what if a couple who’ve been coming to you for months for marriage guidance counselling, are now headed for divorce. Your sessions haven’t been doing them any good, they say. Claiming you should have seen the signs earlier they sue for professional negligence.

  Without liability insurance for mental health counselors you’ll have to find the money for an attorney to defend you. And damages, too, if the case doesn’t go your way.

  Liability insurance for mental health counselors can take care of these costs. If a client claims you did something wrong – even if it was an accident or the claim is groundless – your policy can cover your legal bills and compensation too.

  It means you can get on with looking after the well-being of your clients. Without having to worry about your own

• What does professional liability insurance for mental health counselors cover?

  General liability insurance doesn’t cover claims arising from your counselling. And because you charge for your service, you can be sued even if you did nothing wrong.

  Yeah, it sucks. But not if you have professional liability insurance (or errors and omissions as it’s also known).

  It covers you, your employee, intern, or volunteer, for claims of:

  • Negligence – failing in your duty of care, making a mistake, giving the wrong advice or not delivering what you promised
  • Libel or slander
  • Sexual misconduct and abuse (up to $200,000).

  And can pay your legal costs, plus compensation, if it’s due. Even if a claim is groundless. Plus, up to $5,000 for expenses while a claim’s being settled.

  But that’s not all a professional liability policy covers. If you accidentally lose sensitive client data (it happens) it can pay up to $25,000 towards an HIPAA fine. And up to $5,000 if you should ever find yourself facing disciplinary action.

  What’s more, you can make your coverage retroactive, so it covers claims made by clients you treated in the past too. (As long as you’ve had continuous cover previously.) When you buy your policy, just agree the date you want it to go back to.

• What does general liability insurance for mental health counselors cover?

  General liability insurance for mental health counselors covers you and anyone you employ (including temporary staff and volunteers) for:

  • Accidental damage caused to someone or their property, including fire damage at premises you rent
  • The cost of medical treatment, legal defense fees, and compensation if it’s due, regardless of fault
  • Claims made worldwide - as long as they’re registered in the US or a US territory.

  You can also get up to $250 a day to help with extra expenses and loss of earnings while a claim’s being settled. Because legal claims don’t just cost you money, they take up your time. They can even cost you a client or two.

  If you take equipment you own - including laptops and mobiles - to work with you, add business personal property coverage to your general liability policy. It protects your portables for loss, damage or theft.

  And if you need general liability insurance and want to protect your business equipment and property you rent or own, you might want to buy a business owner’s policy instead. It comes with general liability and property insurance as standard, plus a range of optional add-ons if you need them. What’s more, it can work out cheaper than buying the policies separately too.

• What’s the cost of mental health counselor insurance?

  Our policies are designed with small business owners in mind. So even if you’re a sole proprietor, there’ll be a price to suit your pocket.

  The price you’ll pay for your coverage will depend on things like

  • the size of your business
  • its location
  • the limits you choose.

  Choosing a higher deductible (the amount you contribute towards the cost if there’s a claim) will reduce your premium. Just be sure you could afford to pay that amount if it comes to it.

  Whatever the cost, there’s a package to suit your particular business needs. And payment options, too. You can pay in one lump sum or spread the cost with monthly payments – the choice is yours.

  As for the amount of cover you need, it’s best to over-estimate. Think worst-case scenario. Then pick a figure you can realistically afford.

What other kinds of insurance do mental health counselors need?