Physician Disability Insurance

At Doctor Disability, physician disability insurance is our specialty. Our agents have been working with members of the medical community for over 13 years and have a unique understanding of doctors’ needs, schedules, and preferences. We will work with you to design a disability plan specifically tailored to your unique situation.

Your career as a physician is a direct result of hard work and a substantial investment of time and money. Doesn’t it make sense to fully protect it? A disability could render you helpless by taking away the one thing that you need to safeguard all of your assets: your income.

Home, auto, life, and health insurance are certainly valuable investments, but failure to couple them with disability insurance will jeopardize your full financial security. For example, health insurance might cover the potential fiscal pitfalls of the medical bills that result from a disability, but the rest of your financial obligations are not going to come to a halt. Vehicle payments, mortgages, insurance premiums, and even savings for the future are all important expenses that cannot be ignored just because you are disabled. Unfortunately, the chances of becoming disabled might be greater than you think.

According to the 1994 Statistical Abstract of the United States, in the course of a year, odds are that 1 in 10 people between the ages of 25 and 64 will suffer a disability. When comparing that ratio to the odds of being victim of a house fire (1 in 122); injured in an automobile accident (1 in 160); or even of death (1 in 117), the advantage of disability insurance is clear. A February 2000 article in the New York Times reported that 1 in 7 people between the ages of 35 and 60 will become disabled for five years or more.

Despite these glaring statistics, many physicians still take a substantial risk by ignoring the benefits of insuring their income. In 2000, a survey by The Consumer Federation of America and The American Council of Life Insurers found that 82 percent of people do not have long-term disability insurance or believe their coverage is inadequate.

The alternatives to disability insurance all carry a degree of risk or have some sort of drawback. Social Security benefits are difficult to qualify for and the disability must prevent you from working in any occupation. Worker’s compensation benefits are limited and only cover job-related sickness or injury. Other options—relying on savings, family, and/or friends—are not guaranteed and have considerable downside.

Guard your assets—don’t leave yourself vulnerable by neglecting to protect your income

Important Considerations for Physicians

Occupational Specific Benefits

One of the most important policy features to have in a disability insurance contract is an own-occupation definition of disability. Simply stated, this means that if you are unable to work in your specialty due to an injury or illness, the policy will pay you a benefit even if you choose to work in another occupation. For example, if you are injured and can no longer practice as a radiologist (maybe you have eye problems), an own-occupation policy will still pay you a benefit even if you can earn an income in another specialty or occupation.

This definition differs greatly from many less expensive or group disability insurance plans, which require that you must not only be disabled from your occupation, but also UNABLE to work in any gainful occupation. Even if you are physically unable to do your job, having the ABILITY to flip burgers could preclude you from receiving a benefit.

Occupational Classification

Insurance companies have different rates and policy features for different occupational classes. Your specialty will determine your occupational class. In most cases, specialties with invasive duties will pay slightly more for their policies.

Group Disability Benefits

Many employers offer group insurance. Here are some things to consider:

Group plans can be changed or canceled at any time. This could leave you without coverage when you need it most.
Most group plans cannot be taken with you if you switch employers.
Most group benefits are taxable and do not cover bonuses, which leaves you with a lower net after-tax benefit.
Many group physician disability insurance plans have a restrictive definition of disability. These plans require you to be COMPLETELY disabled before they pay a benefit. In other words, if you have the ability to do any type of work, benefits may not be payable.
Benefits may be offset by income received by workers comp, social security, and other income sources.
Most plans do not keep pace with inflation.
Many group plans do not cover a partial disability (which is the most common type of disability).

Business Overhead Expense Disability Policy

If you own your own practice, you may want to consider a business overhead expense policy. If you become disabled, this policy provides funds to help cover ongoing business expenses such as rent and employee salaries (in addition to many other expenses) to keep your practice open during the period of disability. Few medical practices can survive if the doctor is not generating new revenue. In a very short time, the practice will either shut down or have to be sold. A physician disability insurance business overhead expense policy allows you to cover expenses while disabled and return to your existing practice when able.

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