Almost everyone is familiar with the value of life insurance. Most people, however, think of life insurance in terms of personal benefits – for the financial protection it can help provide for our loved ones.

But if you are an independent practice owner, life insurance can be a crucial part of your professional safety net. Your life insurance portfolio should not only provide enough insurance protection to comfortably provide for members of your family, but it should also help cover the needs of your practice.

We have made it easy for practice owners to get the life insurance coverage they need. So to help you determine if you have the right amount of personal and professional insurance protection, this may be a good time to review the wide range of benefits life insurance can provide to both your family and your practice.

A Succession Plan For Your Practice

If you own a practice with other partners, it’s important to have a succession plan. That would help address questions about what would happen if there was a death of one of your partners.

For example: Would a spouse or one of the heirs now be your business partner? Would you have the funds to buy out that partner’s spouse or heirs? Would you be able to cover your overhead expenses without that partner? Would you be able to pay for a replacement physician?

Life Insurance Can Help Pay Your Partners

A succession plan usually includes a buy-sell agreement. This can require that when a partner dies the business interest of the deceased owner be sold to the remaining co-owner(s) or another named purchaser.

If the partners take out a life insurance policy on each other then the benefit payment could be used to help fund the purchase of the practice.

At this time, life insurance can be critical in helping to relieve some of the financial stress that can accompany the loss of a partner. And the benefit may help keep your practice solvent until a new partner is found.

A stipulation to own life insurance can even be added to the terms of the agreement – as a way to guarantee that funds for the purchase will be available at the exact time they are needed.

Business Value Of Life Insurance

Life insurance can also help pay off or pay down business debt or cosigned loans for your practice – should one of your partners die unexpectedly.

In fact, prior to approving a loan, many financial institutions will require that a business have a guarantee of repayment in place in the event of the death of the person taking the loan. Term life insurance can be an affordable way to meet this requirement – giving your practice a cash reserve if needed.

Personal Value Of Life Insurance

If you are an independent practice owner, it’s up to you to structure your own benefits package.

You may already have a life insurance plan. But that may have been put in place a while ago – and your life may have changed since then. You may now have a larger family, a bigger home with a larger mortgage, and a different lifestyle than when you first obtained a policy.

If Your Life Changes So Should Your Coverage

Major life events are good reasons to re-evaluate your level of insurance protection. If you are newly married, have a new child, or recently started or expanded your practice, you’ll want to consider whether you have insurance protection that is adequate for your current needs.

If your income has grown and your family has a new lifestyle, your life insurance coverage should be commensurate with your living expenses today.

Help Protect Your Co-Signers

If you are a younger physician, you may have a large student loan to repay. If you have taken a co-signer on your education loans, you may want to consider what the financial consequences would be if you were no longer here.

Would your co-signer be left to repay the loan? Would their life savings and retirement plans be at risk if they had to suddenly repay your medical school debt?

Though federal student loans are discharged at death, private and some state loan balances can be treated differently, and your co-signer might be required to repay the loan. Life insurance can provide a means to help protect your co-signer.

Immediate Financial Protection

If you are in the earlier stage of your career, you probably have a savings plan or investment strategy to help provide for your family’s future. These investments can take time to accumulate enough wealth to provide adequate financial security.

Term life insurance offers immediate financial protection that starts from day one. Once you are approved for a policy, the amount of coverage in place immediately helps to protect your beneficiary.

Get An Affordable Plan Quickly

To accommodate both the personal and professional needs of our members we offer affordable life insurance options. For example, for about $50/month, a 40-year-old male physician can get $1,000,000 of term life insurance with a 20-year term.

And you can now apply for life insurance in ways that are faster than ever before.

If you are a TMA member under age 45, you can click the "Life Express" option below to apply for up to $500,000 of coverage with an instant decision.

If you are a TMA member under age 55, you can apply online for up to $1 million of coverage with simplified underwriting by clicking the "$1 Million Life" option below.

And if you want more coverage you can apply for up to $2 million or more by contacting a TMA Insurance Trust advisor. We know you’re busy, so a few minutes on the phone is all it takes to help determine what type and what amount of life insurance can best suit your needs.

Get A Quote Now

Your advisor can provide information and quotes from a selection of top-rated carriers. This includes our own TMA Member Life Insurance issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America. (Prudential).

Prudential was selected because of their financial strength and stability, industry leadership, speed of claim payments and the quality of their customer service.

Please take advantage of a free consultation with a TMA Insurance Trust advisor. They are available weekdays from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm CST to answer your questions, and review your current life insurance coverage. Call us today at 1-800-880-8181.

Or, click one of the buttons below and get started right now.

   

For over 60 years, TMA Insurance Trust advisors have been serving Texas physicians, their families and staff. TMA Insurance Trust prides itself on offering unbiased information and strategies to members, along with exclusive group rates on a range of the highest-rated plans in the industry.