Life insurance may be the last thing on your mind, if you’re a medical student, resident or young physician just starting out. Since you have few, if any dependents, you may think it’s a waste of money. Yet young physicians like you, in Texas and around the country, are starting careers with more financial risks than any previous generation of physicians.
As a physician, protecting your family with the right amount of life insurance isn’t a simple point and click operation. Inputting an income amount into a calculator will give you the estimated coverage for that income level. But It won’t account for any debt, savings or other risks. And it doesn’t look at your unique lifestyle, your goals or your future income.
As a physician, your income puts you in the top 5% of all Americans. Your earning potential makes you a target for every financial advisor and insurance agent in the business. However, not all advisors have your best interests at heart. Insurance advisors do not take a Hippocratic oath and even many well-intentioned agents do not understand the unique needs of physicians. As a result, some physicians end up without enough coverage in the areas they really need and too much of the types they don’t need. How can you be sure if an agent is recommending what is really best for you?
Physicians are feeling pressure due to rising student loans burdens, lower compensation expectations and shrinking health care reimbursements. These factors can distract from their primary motivations for pursuing a career in medicine – helping others, contributing to advancements in the medical field, and promoting health in their communities.
Teenagers and college grads expect to “have it all together” by their 30s. It’s ok to be a kid in your 20s — even in med school — but when the infamous 3-0 rolls around, it’s time to focus on building a solid foundation, climbing the ladder, and settling down to start a family.
Physicians are among the highest earners, but many don’t feel like it. Having already managed large debt burdens on compressed budgets by the time they pay off their student loans and build up to a sizeable income, many physicians learn the value of setting financial goals and seeking professional advice early on.
There’s an old episode of “The X-Files” in which insurance salesman Clyde Bruckman, played by Peter Boyle of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” sits with a young couple at their kitchen table trying to sell them an insurance policy.
When unwanted illness or injury keeps you from practicing medicine for months or years at a time, a long-term disability insurance policy is designed to provide a benefit while you are unable to work.
