Many young physicians buy individual disability insurance based on price alone, thinking that all own-occupation coverage is the same. However, there are other factors to consider. Your choices can have financial consequences for your family, should you become sick or hurt and unable to work.
Higher medical costs, changing demographics and healthcare reform are challenging medical groups to find more cost effective ways to recruit and retain qualified professional staff. Consider how much it costs to hire a new physician: recruiting costs, a signing bonus, relocation expenses and other start-up costs can cut into your bottom line. In order to reduce attrition among younger physicians and advanced clinicians, as well as incentivize senior members to reconsider early retirement, practice owners are offering more attractive benefits packages.
A disabling illness can strike any time, lasting from a few months to a lifetime. The most common causes of long-term disabilities — musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders, cancer, injuries and poisoning, mental disorders and cardiovascular and circulatory diseases — can affect your ability to perform the specialty you were highly trained to do. That’s why many physicians are searching for affordable “own occupation” coverage.
As a physician, you know that you have many people counting on you. You support your family and friends, your patients, important causes, and you plan for your own future needs. This awareness leads most physicians to secure a long-term disability insurance policy early in their career. Yet some physicians may underestimate how much disability insurance they need, they may be tempted to save money by buying less coverage, or they may not have revisited their disability insurance needs for many years.
If you are a high-earning physician and shopping for disability insurance, we have some information that may surprise you. Traditional long-term disability insurance generally protects up to 60% of an average physician's income. But traditional disability policies that most carriers offer are not designed to meet the needs of higher income earners; in fact, traditional coverage may actually leave you with gaps in protection.
According to statistics, illness is the cause of 90% of all disabilities with 10% due to injuries.* As a physician in private practice, you’re responsible for purchasing your own disability coverage. If you become disabled, you’ll need enough personal disability income to pay out-of-pocket medical costs and living expenses, while also covering your share of the business overhead expenses.
After years of training in your medical specialty and a rising income to protect, many physicians are looking for true "own-occupation" disability protection with sought-after riders, not offered by employer-sponsored coverage. To help members secure quality coverage, TMA Insurance Trust has teamed up with Guardian, one of the foremost disability insurance leaders.
If you are a medical resident, you are likely young and healthy, and rightly feel like the world is ahead of you. Long-term disability insurance is probably the last thing on your mind. However, statistics show that 1 in 4 young adults will become disabled before retirement age. If you should ever become disabled, long-term disability insurance can provide the income to meet your living expenses – and pay back your student loans – while you can’t work.
