5 minute read
Disability insurance is designed to protect your income in the case of an unfortunate event. Happily, disability insurance is more affordable than you might have thought.
One of the most commonly asked questions that we receive is “How much does disability insurance cost?” Although we’d love to give you a straight dollar amount, insurance is a little more complex than that. Disability insurance is dependent on many factors, such as health, age, occupation, income, benefit amount, place of residence, and more.
In this blog post, we will break down the different aspects of how the price of disability insurance is determined to give you a better understanding and idea of what you could expect to pay for a policy.
When looking into the cost of disability insurance there is a short answer and a long answer.
Disability insurance costs an average of 1-3% of your annual salary.
The cost of disability insurance can vary from person to person depending on your:
Income
Medical History
Age
Health
Occupation
Location
To better understand how much you can expect to pay we will cover each of these individually.
The point of disability insurance is to cover your income, so naturally, the higher your income, the higher your policy benefit amount will be, which will increase how much your policy will cost.
Typically, you can expect to pay between 1-3% of your annual salary.
The benefit period is how long your benefit will last, or how long you will be paid if you become disabled.
The benefit period can range from two years or until retirement. The longer the benefit period the more your premium will cost.
When thinking about how much coverage you are going to need you should try to determine how much money you would need every month to keep up your lifestyle with no dramatic changes.
The amount you calculate can help determine your ideal benefit amount. Coverage amounts can also be determined based on your group coverage benefits as well.
When applying for disability insurance, the insurance companies will review your medical history, similar to the process of applying for life insurance. In some cases, a threatening medical condition can raise the rates of the premium due to the risk of the condition.
Your age can be one of the most important determining factors for your disability insurance cost because typically speaking the younger you are, the healthier you are.
This is something to keep in mind when you are deciding when is the best time to purchase your policy, you will never get it any cheaper than you will today!
Health is something that can determine your cost as well. The healthier you are, the lower your cost will be.
This is why we recommend you eliminate bad habits like smoking or drugs before you apply.
Not only does your occupation affect the cost based on income but it can also affect the price you will pay due to the risk of your job.
In some occupations, a minor injury could cause a disability, because of their specific duties. Such as a surgeon, a minor injury could cause the individual to be deemed disabled due to the inability to perform their specific tasks.
This would be an example of when the rates would increase dramatically due to a higher risk of becoming disabled.
Discounts are a great way to lower your cost of disability insurance. The most common way to get discounts is through your training program.
Training discounts are huge because they can range anywhere from 10-40% of the premium and they will last the life of your policy.
Another common discount is the Mental Nervous Rider Discount.
If you choose to go without the mental nervous rider, it will go on your policy as a 5-10% discount.
Another great way to receive a discount is by applying with a group! This qualifies you for the Multi-Life discount which can save you up to 30% on your premium.
All of these discounts can really add up and end up saving you hundreds monthly!
Something to remember is that when you are in training you will be earning less than your future attending salary.
For this reason, companies often will put a limit on the amount of coverage you can purchase.
In residency/fellowship = $5000/month
In residency/fellowship but graduating within 6 months = $6500/7500 (depending on specialty)
Attending = income/contract determines amount eligible. Up to $20,000/month with one single company.
Once you are attending you are able to increase your coverage amount in order to protect your full income amount.
These limits are a great way to take advantage of your training discounts while also keeping your premium payments at a low cost.
Prices for disability insurance can vary between different states. This is determined by the number of claims filed in each state.
Although there are no huge jumps between every state, the states that will have higher costs are California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida.
Features, benefits, and riders are optional additions that you can choose to add to your policy, and some are very helpful and highly recommended for doctors, such as Residual/Partial Disability, Catastrophic Disability Rider, Cost of Living Rider (COLA) and more.
Each feature, riders, and benefits have the potential to increase your premium since they are adding value to your policy.
“How much does disability insurance cost” is not an easy question to answer because it is so specific to each individual.
By taking five minutes to fill out a quote request you can see what you would pay for your specific policy.
If you are ready to get your quotes, fill out a quote request here!