Why social workers need liability insurance
The NASW is direct about it: professional liability insurance protects social workers if you are sued for malpractice, and without coverage you could spend significant time and resources defending yourself regardless of the outcome. The NASW-Endorsed Professional Liability Insurance Program is available to current NASW members.
- Complaints commonly involve confidentiality, boundaries, documentation, and duty-of-care questions rather than physical harm.
- Private-practice and contract social workers are the first party liable and should carry their own policy.
- Coverage typically includes licensing board defense — critical when a complaint reaches your state board.
Occurrence vs claims-made (social workers)
Choose occurrence where you can: because a client may raise a complaint long after services end, occurrence keeps that period covered without buying tail coverage. Carriers like CPH & Associates offer occurrence ("lifetime") coverage with licensing board defense; CM&F offers portable coverage with license defense included. If a policy is claims-made, confirm the tail cost before leaving a role.