Professional Liability Insurance to Protect State and Local Government Veterinarians

In today’s tumultuous environment, state and local public health veterinarians are facing a number of additional pressures and risks that have complicated and increased the difficulty of performing their jobs.  Primarily (but not entirely) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these additional difficulties have multiplied over the past year.  As public health veterinarians find themselves more overwhelmed at work, their chances of making mistakes—and the risks of civil liability and adverse administrative actions being taken against them—increase significantly.  

To protect against these exposures, the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV) and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) partnered to provide access to the very same professional liability insurance (PLI) protections for state and local public health veterinarians that federal veterinarians enjoy.  PLI offers liability coverage and legal defense in the event you are sued or investigated for your job actions and decisions.  State and local public health veterinarians, through affiliate membership with NAFV, are now able to obtain the very same professional liability insurance at the very same low price.  

NASPHV is incredibly thankful for Dr. Ann Garvey of NASPHV and Dr. Joe Annelli of NAFV for extending the very same liability protection at the very same price as federal veterinarians to our members. Coverage is available to any public health veterinarian or veterinary medical officer providing full or part-time services as an employee of their respective state or local government agriculture, defense, environmental, research, testing or health and human services agencies/departments, including those employees stationed in universities.  

This is a two-step process:  

1) Join the National Association of Federal Veterinarians at this link: https://nafv.org/new-affiliate-categories--------- State Affiliate Dues are $75 per year 

2) Once you join, pay dues, and create a membership account you are eligible to purchase your own individual Professional Liability Insurance at: https://www.fedsprotection.com/NAFVPE 

Limits and costs are listed below.  

$1,000,000 Limit ($290/yr)  |  $2,000,000 Limit ($390/yr)  

• $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 Civil Suit Legal Defense & Indemnification Limit 
• $200,000 Administrative Legal Defense Expense Limit 
• 100,000 Criminal Legal Defense Expense Limit 

If you have any questions, please contact Mariana Barros-Titus or Janae Edwards at nafv@nafv.org or Brenda Wilson at feds@fedsprotection.com.