Look, you’ve worked your butt off and now you’re in residency. The last thing you want to think about is whether something could happen that jeopardizes your ability to practice medicine. This could even be something minor, but would keep you from your medical specialty of choice.
Luckily, there’s a way you can help have some extra peace of mind and it’s also additional coverage above what (meager policy) your employer likely offers. Today, we’re going to review Disability Insurance – and specifically, why you need it NOW.
What is Disability Insurance?
Great Question! It’s an insurance policy you can purchase that provides coverage for you to guarantee a percentage of your monthly income should something unforeseen occur.
Why Do I Need Disability Insurance?
Whether you have loans (education or mortgage or something else) to pay, a partner or spouse – particularly children – all these factors should be taken into consideration when determining if you need disability insurance. Generally, the recommendation is that unless you are what is considered “Financially Independent“, as in you don’t need a job to support your lifestyle or debt (for the rest of your life), then you should have a disability policy.
While most consider extreme catastrophic situations when thinking of disability insurance, that’s not the usual case. Relatively less catastrophic things can occur in your life that can leave you able to work, but otherwise unable to perform your medical job functions. Things like:
- Car accident or other accident
- Severe illness
- Developing chronic illness
- Addiction
- Mental illness
Many of these are treatable, manageable, and possibly curable. However, depending on the severity of the treatment, you might not be able to practice your specialty of choice. If this happens, disability insurance can provide additional income for you to support yourself, and potentially your family, while you’re still working in medicine.
Great – Do You Have an Example?
For example, perhaps as a surgeon, you are involved in a minor car accident in which you recover, but sustain nerve damage in your dominant hand. This may prevent you from practicing in your surgical specialty, but you can still practice medicine in a more general setting.
If you had a disability insurance policy prior to the accident, and you have the appropriate riders, you’ll be able to file a claim to augment your income while still working in medicine. This protects your income prior to the accident and allows you to keep working – supporting yourself and your family.
How Do I Get Disability Insurance?
There are reams of information on the web for physicians to secure disability insurance. The important thing is to do your homework and make sure you secure “own occupation & specialty specific” insurance. I’ve provided a few links below you should definitely read to get a deeper understanding of the importance of disability insurance.
The resources below also have vetted references for reputable insurance providers that can help you secure disability insurance. The younger and healthier you are when you first get insurance, the cheaper your policy will be.
Does The Surgeon Have Disability Insurance?
She does indeed! We worked with a local insurance agent, though were we to do it again, I would shop around more online before making a final decision. Either way, we both have a little more peace of mind having disability coverage.
Her policy is from Mass Mutual and provides $3750/month should she qualify for 100% disability now. (Given that she’s a resident, that’s a little less than what her monthly income is now, anyway). The policy is $164/month with the ability to upgrade the coverage once she graduates from residency.
Wrapping Up…
I get it, another monthly payment when you’re already likely cash strapped. From my perspective, as (possibly resident) physicians, you’ve put in years of work to get where you are. At the very least, secure your income so that if something does happen, you’ll have a larger safety net that can provide you stability while you transition to a different medical role or to another field entirely.
The goal here isn’t that you have to have disability insurance, the point is to make sure you have a plan for the unlikely event that something does occur. Perhaps you will rely on your spouse’s income, or have family you can fall back on – just don’t be left hanging when you might qualify for a disability claim!
Resources for Disability Insurance from the Web:
Physician on FIRE’s Posts on Disability Insurance
Passive Income MD’s Disability Insurance Collection
Policy Genius on Why Physicians Need Disability Insurance
Thanks for stopping by! Questions about disability insurance? Check the links above and drop your question in the comments below!
-SurgeonJourney
