A typical human hair has a diameter of about 0.001 inches.
If a fingernail is about 0.011 inches thicker than a human hair, you can add that thickness to the diameter of the hair:
\[ \text{Thickness of fingernail} = \text{Thickness of human hair} + 0.011 \text{ inches} \]
Substituting the values:
\[ \text{Thickness of fingernail} = 0.001 \text{ inches} + 0.011 \text{ inches} = 0.012 \text{ inches} \]
Now converting that to a decimal with three places:
\[ 0.012 \text{ inches} \]
The scientific notation for 0.012 inches is \(1.2 \times 10^{-2}\) inches.
Thus, the thickness of a fingernail expressed as a decimal to three places is:
\[ \boxed{0.012} \]