Common Questions
When we discuss disability insurance, we talk about the need for it and tell people how 90% of long-term disabilities are illness claims. In the medical field, you see the need for this product every day, and odds are you have had several lunch-n-learns where the topic of protecting your future earnings potential with a disability insurance policy has already come up. We sell a lot of policies to residents and fellows across the country, so we know what the actual questions you have are;
There are several reasons why today is the best day for you to buy disability insurance, but if you don't think today is the best day after these three, there is no point in listing the rest.
- Cost - Non-cancelable disability income policies fix their prices for the life of the contract. You are never going to get an unexpected rate increase. If you are 30 now, you would want to pay the rates of a 30-year-old for the next 35 years instead of paying the rates of a 31-year-old for the next 34 years. You will save a bunch of money over time by locking in your rates at your current age.
- Health - Generally, you will never be healthier in the eyes of an insurance company underwriter than you are today. You may not think that the anti-anxiety medication you decide to take next year means anything or that a chiropractic visit is relevant. Still, to a disability insurance company, that could result in a back exclusion or mental/nervous exclusion. As time goes on, you have more medical issues that could result in exclusion limitations, extra ratings, or even prevent you from getting a policy. There is no better time than right now.
- GSI Disability Insurance - If you are training at one of the many hospitals with a Guardian GSI disability insurance offer, there is no guarantee that the offer will exist tomorrow. You may think you will wait until graduation to purchase your own disability insurance policy, but GSI offers get pulled by insurance companies all the time. The insurance company can get out of the GSI business like multiple other carriers have already, or they could pull the offer from your hospital because the agents were not getting the required 30% participation needed by the company. We have to update the Guardian GSI disability insurance list monthly with changes. Take the offer while you can. Don't wait!
In our professional opinion, no single policy on the market today can say it offers a more comprehensive level of protection for a physician than Guardian. There is a reason Guardian has been a market leader in disability insurance for physicians for over twenty years. They have the absolute best definition of total disability any physician can get. It is a true own-occupation definition for the life of the policy, and it contains medical specialty language built into the policy.
This allows you to receive your full disability benefit PLUS your income from another occupation or medical specialty if you choose to work in another capacity. Because you can collect your new income and not have your disability benefits reduced, you could get back to what you were making prior to the disability. Some people call this "double-dipping", but we just call it good sense to protect your full income.
You are eligible for permanent discounts of up to 30% if you buy your policy while still in training or up to 90 days after graduation. There is a 10% student/resident discount, a 10% preferred occupation discount, and a 10% discount for mental and nervous benefits if you limit coverage to two years. These discounts are permanent for the life of the policy, so it is important to purchase it while you are still training.
I just wanted to let you know that this does not need to concern you. We have sold thousands of disability insurance policies to physicians nationwide. The reality is that most residents and fellows establish their disability insurance the same way. We are not going to let you make any significant mistakes, but we will walk you through the more important decisions to make sure your policy fits your needs.
Most of your peer group tends to buy Guardian's Provider Choice, usually choosing the "Premier" option. The "Graded Premium" option is also popular to keep the rates low while in residency, and you convert it to a level premium after you are more financially established a few years later.
Most hospitals do a good job by providing you Group LTD during training. That stops once you graduate, and you will see the majority of your colleagues will buy their disability insurance policy during training for the reasons outlined above. Don't rely on Group LTD. If you have access to a GSI disability insurance offer I recommend taking advantage of it immediately, regardless of the company making the offer.
