8 Reasons you should be covering Your Best Asset as a Physician

Being a professional, you understand the importance of having insurance for your sake and for the sake of your family. However, the problem has been that you’ve never thought about disability insurance because you are too busy or you probably think accidents that will render you disable can never happen. The “it will never happen to me” mentality always places people in bad situations when incidents occur which render them disabled. Ignoring disability insurance is not an option given all your financial obligations and given the fact that you have people depending on you. You need to make sure you find the right insurance company that offers favorable terms for this kind of coverage so you can be confident you are getting the right deal in case something happens to you. Especially as a physician, you need to make sure you have your asset covered using disability insurance. If you are still wondering why this type of insurance is ideal for you, then here’s why.

Student Loan Debt

In the medical field, for instance, the current and recent Resident Physician has a student loan debt that falls between the $180,000 and $190,000 in average. This combines the total amounts from the graduate and undergraduate debt. You may depend on your income to settle your student loan quickly, but you need to remember that the interests accumulate and it may take time to completely pay it off. For instance, if you can no longer work as a result of a disability from an accident, it will be practically impossible to settle your loan since you’ll no longer be as productive as you used to be. However, with disability insurance, you’ll be in a position to continue paying your student loan without any problem.

Disability is a Possibility

Another reason why you need to protect your best assets with disability insurance is that being disabled is always a possibility in a work environment. Accidents are bound to occur or you may be disabled from a particular illness. In most cases, people tend to downplay or underestimate the chances of being disabled. According to a survey, a majority of the wage earner, approximately 67 percent believed they had 2 percent chance of being disabled for more than three months. However, the actual odd for becoming disabled for those joining the workforce is approximately 25 percent.

Instead of making provisions for these circumstances by paying for disability insurance, some probably choose to set aside their income for emergency cases. Although this is a prudent move, it often falls short when it comes to taking care of disability cases. And since disability is a huge drain in one’s life, it is advisable to go for the option of a disability insurance rather than merely saving up for cases of emergency. You can find all you need to know about this type of insurance at insurestat.com/resident-fellow-di/.

You Are Still Young

Even young people can become disabled. It is, therefore, important to ensure you are sufficiently covered as a young professional. For those working in the field of medicine, insurers allow physicians, fellows, and residents who are still new in the practice to acquire insurances policies that have higher payouts than would be the case with other professionals within the same income category. Insurers acknowledge that physicians have a greater income potential as opposed to other professionals in a similar age group.

You are aging

As a young professional, you need to get your disability insurance sooner rather than later. This type of insurance can be costly. As you age, the risk of disability is usually greater. However, the sooner you buy this coverage, the cheaper it will be for you in the long run.

Always Choose Increased Coverage

As a resident physician or any other medical practitioner, you need to go for an increased coverage if you are looking to have yourself covered throughout your period before and after practice. With a disability insurance policy, you have the option of increasing the amount of coverage when your income increases.

Individual Disability Insurance

If you are disabled, there are various types of coverage you can choose from. However, the best policy to select is the long-term disability insurance policy. With individual policies, you get more suitable contractual provisions and the premiums rates are unchanged. With this option, total disability is liberally defined and it doesn’t offset other income sources. You can also decide to go with this option if you feel that it meets your entire requirements as a professional.

Group Long-Term Disability Coverage

You may also consider going for a group policy if you are thinking about protecting yourself against disabilities. One of the most significant advantages of this kind of policy is that it offers a typically higher benefit as opposed to individual policy. While the latter offers some levels of benefits that may seem fairly low, the benefit of a group plan is often a ratio of your income (60 to 70 percent) up to the level of maximum benefit.

However, it’s imperative to note that group plans have their share of demerits. Group premiums reduce with age, and the insurance organization may raise premiums or cancel coverage on an experience basis. Moreover, if you leave employment, you also leave the policy behind. Finally, these types of coverage usually have restrictive definitions of what it means to be disabled and offer contract provisions that are less generous.

Opportunity for Long-term Coverage

With disability insurance, rather than depending on your saving for unforeseeable circumstances, you can always take advantage of the long-term coverage offered by your employers. If your employer offers long-term disability coverage, then you don’t need to worry about this issue. In most cases, long-term coverage by employers is offered at a low rate and you do not need to qualify medically. However, if you are looking for a waterproof plan, you can always supplement your work’s coverage with a physical disability plan. That way, you already have protection when you switch jobs in the future.

From the above, you can see that disability insurance is arguably not an option for any professional, let alone the medical practitioners. If you are a young person looking to earn a decent living even amidst instances of disabilities, then going for this coverage should not be an option for you.