As a physician, you are well aware of the benefits of traditionally-known insurance types, such as standard health, life and disability. While these plans are crucial in terms of protection, what if you prefer covering high deductible costs, out-of-pocket expenses your regular insurance plan does not cover, or suddenly face a critical illness that will require having extra cash on hand? When these life events arise, you can protect yourself and your family with an extra level of defense provided by a supplemental insurance plan.
Supplemental coverage for physicians such as Critical Illness Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment/Accidental Health Insurance, and Supplemental Hospital Indemnity Insurance can be extremely valuable during your time of greatest need. But before exploring how to evaluate potential supplemental coverage, let’s take a closer look at several types you may want to consider:
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Critical Illness Coverage – Also known as disease-specific insurance, a Critical Illness Insurance policy can ease the financial burden of dealing with a serious illness, such as cancer or stroke. Depending on your policy type, you can receive a lump-sum benefit that can help you pay for additional costs related to your illness that may not be covered by your standard health insurance policy. Some expenses typically paid with this lump sum are deductibles, travel and hotel if seeking treatment far from home, paying for experimental treatment, childcare costs, and other living expenses such as car payments, groceries and mortgages.
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Accidental Death & Dismemberment/Accidental Health – While these are two different types of accident policies, they are oftentimes combined with one another. These policies have benefits that range from state to state depending on insurance regulations. With an Accidental Death & Dismemberment policy, a lump sum is given to the beneficiary of an individual if he/she dies in an accident. Smaller policy benefits may be paid if someone does not lose his or her life but does lose a limb, eyesight or suffers from some type of paralysis. This type of insurance plan is for accidents only. It will not pay a benefit if someone commits suicide or dies from an illness or natural causes.
With Accidental Health Insurance, you can receive help to pay medical costs that arise from an accident which are not covered by your regular health insurance policy. Depending on your plan, this type of insurance can also help pay for extended home care services and lodging/travel for family members. -
Hospital Indemnity Insurance – This type of insurance offers a cash benefit given in one lump sum or daily/weekly payments if you are confined to the hospital with a serious injury or illness. Benefits may not start until a minimum waiting period and are most often used to help pay for extra services not covered by typical health insurance plans.
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Now that you are more familiar with several types of supplemental insurance coverage plans, here are four tips to keep in mind when considering which plan may be appropriate for you:
- Understand the plan’s benefits and conditions – When speaking with your advisor about supplemental insurance coverage, be sure to ask about specific details regarding waiting periods, the types of illnesses covered by the policy, or if there are certain requirements to fulfill in order to claim your benefits.
- Inquire about cost and increases – Costs for supplemental insurance plans vary depending on your age, health, the type of coverage and the amount of the benefit. Be sure to inquire if the plan you choose will have scheduled increases in premium. You do not want to let go of coverage in future years, at times when you may need it most, because of price.
- Review your current coverage – A skilled advisor can help you review your current health and disability insurance to determine if it is in your best interest to add a supplemental policy to the mix. The goal is to be adequately protected no matter what type of crisis occurs in the future.
As a physician, it is crucial to protect your income and lifestyle should an unexpected event occur. If you are seeking a way to receive extra help with high out-of-pocket deductibles, or want increased protection when it comes to specific illness coverage, accidents and more, a supplemental coverage policy may be right for you. With lump sum benefits that can be used for mortgages, travel, experimental treatment, childcare and more, contact your trusted advisor today about which supplemental insurance plan would best benefit your needs and situation.