Counselor Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report
3rd EDITION
The American Counseling Association (ACA) leads the counseling profession by supporting counselors in their role within the mental healthcare community for the support, protection and well-being of clients. ACA does this through advocacy, education, practice tools, and resources for counselors to engage and learn from each other.
ACA is proud to contribute and support the Counselor Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report: 3rd Edition. We thank the CNA insurance companies (CNA) and Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) for their work. ACA believes this report will assist our members in enhancing their client safety practices that advance the profession and helps counselors deliver the highest quality client-centered care.
Key Findings of the Counselor Professional Liability Exposure Claim Report
The average total incurred for professional liability claims has increased almost 40 percent from $113,642 to $157,492.
There was a significant increase in the number of claims with paid indemnity greater than or equal to $500,000 which increased from 1.4 percent of the 2019 dataset to 7.0 percent of the 2024 dataset.
The percentage of private practice-related claims increased from 10.1 percent in the 2019 dataset to 21.9 percent of the closed claim distribution in the 2024 dataset.
A notable change from the prior report has been an increase in the number of claims that occurred outside of the “traditional” office setting using virtual technology. 3.9 percent of claims in the 2024 dataset involved instances in which counseling was rendered via telebehavioral health.
Claims involving the telebehavioral health location demonstrated the potential for high severity loss exposures in the 2024 dataset with an average total incurred of $317,516.
Claims asserting violations of The counseling relationship (ACA Code of Ethics, section A) remained the top allegation category in the 2019 and 2024 datasets.
A notable change from the prior report is the rise of claims involving allegations in the Evaluation, assessment, and interpretation category (ACA Code of Ethics, section E), which represents 9.4 percent of the claim distribution in the 2024 dataset and an average total incurred loss of $460,671.
Subpoena assistance matters represent nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of the claims that closed with payment.
The average payment per paid license protection matter has remained relatively flat with an increase of 1.3 percent from $5,454 in the 2019 dataset to $5,524 in the 2024 dataset.
Sexual misconduct, failure to maintain professional standards, and breach of confidentiality most frequently led to licensing board complaints.
The majority of license protection matters (64.6 percent) closed with no action taken by the Board, representing a successful defense of the insured counselor.