5 minute read
As an emergency medicine physician, you know better than anyone how unexpected life can be. You see firsthand how important it is to be prepared for emergencies and how unforeseen injuries and illnesses can impact you and your family’s lives.
Which is why it is probably no surprise to you that 1 in 4 physicians become disabled before the end of their career. This is where the importance of disability insurance comes in.
Disability insurance is a type of insurance that provides income in the case that you are unable to work due to an injury or illness.
Having disability insurance will protect you and those who depend on you in unfortunate circumstances. Disability varies from long-term illness to a disabling accident, which could take away your career or financial stability if left unprotected.
After you have spent thousands of dollars and hours investing in medical school and your training, your career is dependent on you! This is why it is essential to secure yourself.
Disability Insurance is one of the smartest financial investments you can make. It can help secure your income in case of an unfortunate event and save you from debt and loss of your income.
There are a handful of things to look for when purchasing a policy as an emergency medicine physician to ensure that you are fully protected. Here are the top 4 must-haves for an emergency medicine physician disability insurance policy.
TRUE OWN-OCCUPATION
True own-occupation is a type of disability insurance that is highly recommended, but what does “own- occupation” mean?
True own-occupation means if you are disabled to the point where you can’t perform the responsibilities of your specialty, but you can work at another job, they will continue to pay you the full benefit!
If you don't have own-occupation coverage and you can no longer work in your specialty but you can do another job (like working at a library, teaching, or anything else), you are going to find yourself having your benefit decreased. They may even stop paying you altogether.
Own-occupation is the most important, the number one thing that you should know about your disability insurance policy and a critical part of the best disability insurance policies.
BENEFIT PERIOD of 65
Another important piece of your policy to pay attention to is the Benefit Period. A benefit period is the maximum length of time a policy will continue to pay your benefits.
Ideally, you would like to have a Benefit Period of 65, which means that the insurance company would continue to pay you your benefit until you are 65. This is important to be sure that you are receiving the most out of your policy.
THE CORRECT RIDERS
Residual or Partial disability coverage is something else you should have in your policy to make it work for you. It's one of the most commonly used assets, so why not take advantage?
Residual Disability Insurance comes into play if you can still work after an injury or illness but you have to decrease the amount of time by 15-20%. Residual Disability insurance will make up the difference in your pay to keep your income at a steady and stable level.
POLICY ADAPTABILITY
To be sure that your policy can adapt 'to the changes in your income and lifestyle over time, you need to make sure that your disability insurance policy has a guaranteed future insurability feature.
With the increase of your future income, you’ll also be able to expand your current policy. This will give you stability and security in life even if something unfortunate happens because, with a steady flow of money, there should never have any issues with living or funding kids' education.
When looking into securing your disability insurance policy options as an emergency medicine physician these details can make a huge difference in making sure that you can get the best policy for yourself.
If you need help determining which policy is best for you, we are here to help. To get started comparing all of your true own-occupation policy options, fill out a quote request here.