Physician Disability Insurance
Protect your specialty
Our team of experts specialize in finding the right contract for our physician clients based on specialties, gender, discounts available and more.
Why True Own Occupation Disability Insurance?
You have worked hard to get to where you are. You’ve not only made a large financial investment in your future, but also an enormous time investment. Becoming sick or hurt could derail your plans on the rewarding career ahead of you, in addition to the financial goals you surely have. As a physician, you have a special skill set, and that skill set must be properly insured to protect against becoming disabled. True Own Occupation Disability Insurance will do just that.
LET’S DEFINE DISABILITY
Disability means the inability to perform the material and substantial duties of your occupation due to a sickness or injury. The best disability policies out there will offer a “specialty own occupation” definition. That means if, due to sickness or injury, you can’t perform the material and substantial duties of your specialty, EVEN if you are working in another occupation, you will receive your total disability benefits. You see most people think of someone in a wheelchair when they think of a disability. But disabilities can be hard to spot. It’s the surgeon with scar tissue in his wrist, the dentist with back pain, the professional with Lyme disease. And let’s not forget the serious conditions like cancer, stroke, heart attack, MS, diabetes or catastrophic accidents. The point is, no matter what sickness or injury prevents you from doing what you worked so hard to become, you want to get paid.
BENEFITS OF BUYING AS A RESIDENT OR FIRST YEAR PHYSICIAN
- Special Limits – The carriers know you’ll have high incomes in the future so they will offer anywhere between $5,000 and $7,500 per month of coverage without providing financials
- Simplified Underwriting – Some carriers will only require a medical questionnaire (non-med) but waive the physical exam
- Discounts – If you are in an endorsed program you may be eligible for 10-20% (or higher) Discounts
- Protection – It always makes the most sense to get coverage now, rather than waiting
PREMIUM OPTIONS
- Graded – Graded is a lower monthly rate, however, every year your premiums will increase according to the outlined schedule. Eventually you’ll want to convert to level, at which time you will pay rates at your attained age.
- Level – This is over time the cheapest way to pay by locking in your rates right from the start. However, if cash flow is tight as a young resident, there’s no harm in starting off graded and then converting to level once cash flow increases with your first big contract.
WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR IN AN OWN OCCUPATION DISABILITY POLICY?
A well constructed policy will properly protect your income, and what you’ve invested in your career!
FAQ
Most Carriers will require a phone call to review your medical history, followed up with an exam to get your vitals, height, weight, blood an urine. They’ll also ask for financial proof of income. If you are a resident or first year physician using a special program, sometimes financial and the exam will be waived! – Another reason to get DI right out of the gates!
As an independent insurance firm, we find the right carrier for you based on the carriers’ contract language, your specialty, employment status (employee vs. practice owner), and discounts available. We’ll always help you find the best carrier for you!
There are many variables that are factored into a quote. Rates differ greatly based on gender, specialty and age. In addition, riders make the policy richer (and you want them) but they aren’t free. We’re happy to show you where the differences are between quotes so you can make an educated decision.
Today (ok you won’t have your policy in hand today). But in all seriousness, the sooner the better when it comes to disability insurance. For one, you are the youngest you’ll ever be – I guarantee it! As you age, your rates increase if you don’t lock it in. Two, you are probably the healthiest as well. In addition, if something happens during the time you waited to buy, now you don’t have coverage when you need it the most. You’ve invested so much to get to where you are. There’s no need to risk losing what you worked so hard for now.
We find a lot of residents feel this way. Some carriers have options to pay a lower premium (sometimes called graded) and then lock it in once you’re making the big bucks. No need to save some money on your disability insurance but then rack up credit card debt! In addition, we work with residents to tailor the best coverage they can get at a premium they can afford.
Of course! As you can imagine, many of our clients that we’ve met during their residencies have taken positions all over the country. With e-applications, e-medicals, and e-deliveries, we are able to work with you no matter where you are. We can Skype, FaceTime, or the good old fashioned conversation over the phone
Yes. Building relationships with residency programs all over the country is important to us. We want to help as many residents as we can. All we ask is that we set the date in stone and that your program promotes it so we can have good attendance. We will even bring breakfast or lunch! We recommend scheduling around didactic sessions or similar seminars so it’s convenient for the residents!
Probably. Remember we spoke about your Future Increase Option on your Disability Policy? It locks in your ability to buy more Disability Insurance in the future without proving your healthy. We recommend the same for life insurance. You probably won’t want to spend too much on this if cash flow is tight. But buying a big block of term insurance will protect you for when you do have a family. Make sure it’s convertible to quality life insurance contracts for maximum flexibility in the future.
About us
Our partners met at a previous firm in 2012. After successful careers, they decided to create a firm to better serve clients and advisors. Fortis means “strong”. The Fortis Agency delivers strong financial strategies to clients and advisors.
Our mission
Our partners found The Fortis Agency with a two-fold mission. First, is to bring the highest quality financial products and strategies to our clients. Second, is to empower financial advisors and brokers around the country to do the same. Our goal is to do good with good people.