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Disability Insurance KY During Medical Residency

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By Sarah Moore


Purchasing disability insurance during medical residency is a smart idea for young physicians. Obtaining coverage during training allows one to benefit from better health, lower premiums and less financial documentation. Most of the top insurers providing high quality coverage for physicians today have special limit programs that allow residents and fellows to obtain disability insurance KY based on their level of training rather than their current income. This is advantageous for young physicians but only if the planning is done properly.

Many individuals take for granted that Social Security dis-ability benefits will be paid to them when they are no longer able to work and earn a paycheck for their small business, however, this is not generally the case. It is notoriously difficult to get the Social Security Administration (SSA) to approve your application for dis-ability benefits. In addition, when relying exclusively on Social Security, you are subject to their definition of dis-ability, their waiting period and their benefit limits.

Can the provisions or price of my disability insurance policy change in the future? The response to this question can be answered by reviewing the renewability provision of a dis-ability policy. As a young physician, it is best to obtain a policy whose provisions and pricing cannot be changed in the future. In order to achieve this goal, medical residents must obtain a disability insurance policy that is non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable. This will guarantee that the insurer cannot cancel the policy, increase the premiums or change the provisions so long as the premiums are paid on time.

The factor of health is a bit more complex than the average person would believe. The biggest risk a medical resident will run in not purchasing coverage today, is the discovery of an illness that may prevent him/her from qualifying for it in the future. However, there is also the risk of simply discovering a smaller medical condition that still allows one to purchase a Disability policy, but requires an exclusion.

Often referred to as modified own-occupation, this definition refers to a person totally dis-abled if he/she is unable to perform the material duties of his occupation solely because of illness or injury and must not be gainfully employed. The second and more reputable definition, known as true own-occupation, considers an individual totally dis-abled if solely as a result illness or injury, he/she is not able to perform the material duties of his/her occupation, even if he/she is employed in a different occupation.

Inflation can work against the value of your disability insurance payment. A cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, added to your disability cover policy will adjust your benefits annually in order to keep pace with inflation.

In reviewing this provision, young physicians should be sure to also inquire as to the period for which this definition is applicable. Few insurers will offer a true own-occupation definition of total dis-ability with medical specialty language for the full benefit period. For medical residents and young physicians, it is advisable to obtain only a policy that will provide this definition for the full benefit period.

Another benefit you can add to your D/I policy is guaranteed insurability benefits. This will allow you to add additional insurance amounts without going through underwriting again as this benefit guarantees your continued insurability. That means as your small business income goes up, you can mirror that increase through your disability insurance policy without worrying about how your health or age might affect your rates.




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