How much does it cost to lose a physician in your practice? According to HR experts G&A Partners, the cost of replacing a skilled professional employee amounts to 125% of that employee’s annual salary. Consider the cost of severance pay, recruitment costs, lower productivity while other employees pick up the slack, lost time while training, and lower productivity while the new employee becomes acclimated. The expense adds up quickly, and the financial impact adversely affects your bottom line.

Many employed physicians receive disability insurance from their employers as part of a comprehensive benefits package. Typically, employer-provided long-term disability insurance provides a benefit for up to 60% of a physician’s salary. For this employer-provided coverage, you will most likely have to pay taxes on any benefits you receive.* The amount you owe in taxes could be considerable, which would leave you with even less income than the 60% of protection you thought you had - right when you need it the most.

If you become sick or hurt and are unable to work, proper long-term disability insurance can be your financial failsafe. Sadly, some physicians are leaving themselves vulnerable to potential hardship. They may purchase a disability policy based on what they can afford at the time. They know they have some long-term disability coverage, but the truth is, they may be underinsured. If a serious illness or injury strikes, they realize that the coverage they obtained is not adequate, and their funds are draining at an alarming rate. How can you keep this from happening to you?

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.