Physician Disability Insurance

Medical Professionals Require Unique Solutions 

As a new or experienced physician, you’ve committed significant financial resources and many hours of study and experience to becoming a specialist in your field of medicine. Every patient will expect you to perform at your highest level when seeking your expert advice.

Performing to your peak potential depends on your mental and physical health and, just like your patients and those you advise, you are vulnerable to the debilitating effects of illness and injury.

You have to focus for long periods of time and couple this with the need for acute cognitive ability to recall detailed information, interpret symptoms and lab results. You must perform complex medical procedures to treat your patients. Add the stress of life or death decision-making and you can see how important it is to understand the unique abilities that allow you to practice medicine.

You know you need high quality disability insurance. What you are searching for is the resource you can trust to give you the same professional advice you render to your patients.

MyDisabilityPlans Is That Resource

When you partner with MyDisabilityPlans.com you will experience the process of “diagnosis and prescription” we call The 7 Steps to Disability Planning Success™. Our experts will take you through a process of discovery which will assure you have the disability plan you desire and deserve. Get the convenient service you need when your time is so limited. Information can easily be provided over the web and comparatives can be viewed on-line to work with your busy schedule. No personal meetings or travel time. Simple, fast and accurate to help you make the right choice with disability insurance coverage.

Coverage Considerations: Physician Disability Insurance

Definition Of Disability

• Specialty Specific Definitions – Many physicians demand disability contracts which contain provisions to protect them in their specialty practice of medicine, commonly referred to as a Specialty Own Occupation definition. It is crucial that you are working with a disability insurance advisor with access to the expertise and markets to align your needs with the available insurance products.
• Transitional Own Occupation – Unique definitional tool providing much of the protections of Specialty Own Occupation at lower price points.
• Own Occupation and Not Engaged In Other Employment – A more traditional approach which leverages the “Residual or Partial Disability” provision to provide protection when you change occupations due to your disability.
• Any Reasonable Occupation – Typically one of the weakest definitions of disability. Typically seen after a short period of Own Occupation protection. This is prevalent in many of the group disability insurance plans offered by practices and hospitals.

Definition of Residual (Partial) Disability

• Will your policy benefits begin after you can’t perform some of the duties of your occupation or will a specified combination of loss of duties and income loss be required?
• What percentage loss is required to trigger a benefit?
• Is there an opportunity to continue benefits after you have recovered but still suffer a loss of income?

Ability to Increase Your Coverage Without Demonstrating Financial or Medical Insurability

There are many scenarios which may require a unique application of the available provisions in the marketplace.

Coverage While You Are in Training

Student

• Understand why students should buy early to prepare for transition into residency, fellowship and starting practice.
• Learn how to stack your physician disability insurance coverage in order to avoid the need for future medical exams as your income increases.

Resident

• Access available pricing discounts within your medical school with a full comparison that includes all True Own Occupation carriers.
• Design your plan to prepare for transitioning into starting your own practice.

Fellowship

• Access available pricing discounts with your medical facility with a full comparison that includes all True Own Occupation carriers.

Increased Experience

Increased experience and knowledge within your medical specialty demand different levels of disability insurance for physicians. As your career progresses, your income should increase. Designing your disability plan to adjust to future income increases without potentially troublesome underwriting will make adding protection easy and hassle free.

Starting Your Own Practice

Your skills and obligations change when you are not only a practicing medicine but also a business owner. Being an owner of a practice requires increased focus on the sources of your income and the retention of your patience. Whether you currently own your practice or you are hopeful of this opportunity in the future, building your physician disability insurance plan with the added flexibility for this future possibility can be cost effective when done at the outset of your plan.

Multiple Sources of Compensation

Does your current disability income policy recognize the multiple sources of your total income? Many physicians earn salary and bonus income. There may be additional income coming in the way of retirement plan contributions. Many employer provided disability insurance plans don’t cover all the types of income you receive from your practice! And they don’t have the protections you need to adjust your coverage when circumstances change. MyDisabilityPlans.com will help you better understand the details of your current plan when you engage in The 7 Steps to Disability Planning Success™. Part of the process will include a review of your existing plans with our consultants to make sure your current coverage will perform up to your requirements.

Changes or Loss of Employer Provided Group Disability Coverage

With many employer sponsored plans, changes are ongoing to control the costs of benefits. A simple change in insurance carriers may leave you exposed. Do you have a backup plan should your employer decide to change what they offer you?.

By partnering with My Disability Plans, you’ll have access to the True Own Occupation physician disability insurance coverage marketplace from leading carriers in the industry, including Berkshire/Guardian, Standard, MetLife, Principal, Union Central, and Mass Mutual. We’ll help you understand the differences between providers and coverage contracts when evaluating disability insurance for physicians so you can design the best plan based on your risk tolerance and budget.

Designing and purchasing your unique plan means different things depending on your specialty. All carriers are not created equal when it comes to physician disability insurance, and having detailed comparisons, benefits information, and quotes from companies that show the side by side difference can make the buying experience educational and less intimidating.

• Learn to maximize your available coverage even with employer sponsored physician disability insurance coverage as you start. Contact My Disability Plans today to learn how we can help you customize a physician disability insurance policy to meet your specific needs.