As you near the conclusion of your medical residency, you can rightly be proud of your accomplishments, and have reason to look forward to a successful career. But the world has changed, and the face of medicine looks strikingly different than when you began this journey. No one can say with certainty what the future holds. Because the unexpected does happen, proper insurance coverage is vital for helping you successfully meet the unknown.

What type of insurance should you carry as a resident or fellow? For those who aren’t sure where to start, we have created a package of the most essential insurance products for physicians who are starting out in their careers.

As a physician, you have worked hard to achieve much in your life. As you plan for your future, you think of investment strategies and savings plans. If something should happen to you, financial protection for your loved ones is of paramount importance.

One of the best ways to offer immediate financial protection is to obtain a term life insurance policy, whereas many savings plans and investment strategies require time to build value. Once you are approved for a term life insurance policy, your amount of coverage is in place, and immediately helps to provide protection. Term life insurance provides financial protection for your family when they need it the most.

When you graduate you will embark on a new chapter in your professional life. You’ll be starting a new job – with new responsibilities, working with new colleagues, maybe even moving into a new home and starting a family.

Before you graduate, however, we want to remind you about the benefits that come with your TMA membership – some of which, you may not even be aware are available to you. This could be a good time to review those benefits, as they can be very valuable, particularly when you transition to the next phase of your career.

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.

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.

No one likes to consider their own mortality.  But if you have a family or spouse who relies on your income as a Texas physician, set those feelings aside. Realizing the need for life insurance is an important first step, while qualifying for it is much more involved, as insurers evaluate each application based on a number of criteria, including age, lifestyle, profession, and health. If you're considering applying for life insurance in Texas, be aware that these health conditions listed below may affect your application, resulting in higher premiums or denial.

Life insurance policies are a critical element of a family’s financial plan. Selecting the right policy ensures your family’s well-being should the unexpected take place.

An ideal mortgage loan candidate has low debt and a sizable income. Low debt is not often the case, however, for new physicians leaving residency. On average, physicians start their careers with $166,750 in debt. Leaving residency with large debts and career opportunities still on the horizon, new medical practitioners have many of the characteristics banks often try to avoid.