Question: Would you purchase insurance that protects just half of your house? What about half your car? Or your family?

Most likely you would not. So why would you settle for insurance coverage that might only protect half of your finances?

Rock climbers have confidence that their safety equipment will catch them if they fall; otherwise they would never take the risk of climbing. But they don’t secure their anchors, knots and carabiners once, then ignore them for the duration of their climb. To be safe, they check their safety equipment periodically; both as their position changes, and as time passes.

As a resident, you may believe that you don’t need to think about long-term disability insurance, since it is part of your employer-provided benefits package. It is reasonable to feel confident in the benefits provided by your employer. But to be sure that your disability insurance will protect your finances properly in the event of a serious accident or illness, you should look closely at your protection to make sure it fits your situation; and as a resident, you may have specific needs that your employer-provided coverage simply cannot meet.

If you are a young physician these can be hectic yet exhilarating times. You are in the early stages of the career you have always wanted to pursue. And you are establishing a foundation for a future which holds great promise and reward.

So right now the last thing you may want to think about is what might put that future at risk. But maybe it should actually be the first.