If you are like most physicians, despite the fact that you work very hard, you still have not achieved financial independence. Instead, you depend on your ability to continue to earn an income. Still, some physicians are living with a hidden risk that could destroy their financial security. The danger: the risk of a disabling injury or long-term illness.
You may have a long-term disability policy provided by the hospital or medical group where you’re employed or you may have bought a plan yourself and filed it away. So why would you need to revisit and update your coverage? For most physicians, the answer lies in one simple question, “If you become disabled and cannot continue your career, will your disability coverage provide enough income to maintain your lifestyle for a significant amount of time?”
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.
For physicians, long-term disability insurance, also known as income protection, is one of the most important investments that can be made. No one wants to think about an unexpected illness or injury, but it is wise to arm yourself with the facts. Young workers today face a three in ten chance of being disabled before they retire, and medical problems are the reason stated in over sixty percent of the bankruptcy cases. In fact, the most startling statistic regarding disability comes from The National Safety Council, which states 498 Americans become disabled every ten minutes.
Insurance. If you’re a Millennial, the word probably evokes yawns and shrugs. But insurance is needed for many reasons in our lives. We purchase travel policies when we book a vacation. We insure our cars. But what happens when that car gets smashed by another car, sending you sideways into the landscape? Or the plane falls out of the sky? Or you get sick.
These are dramatic images, but they can happen. To anyone. At any age.
As you review insurance plans for your medical practice staff, you may want to consider offering long-term disability insurance.
This type of coverage can be a valuable benefit for a medical practice to offer. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest that one in five employees have a chance of becoming disabled during their careers. On average, long-term disability absences from work last for more than two years.
Graduating residents are tired of hearing it by now, but despite a good chance of having a greater income in the near future, this probably isn’t the time to trade in your used car for the keys to an expensive late-model vehicle. You want to be responsible, and that means thinking about how to spend wisely after residency.
