Even if you are a high-income earning professional like a doctor, you must follow your regular work routine to earn an income. You would also be carrying a massive medical school debt, which averages over $200,000 in America. A major portion of your income in the early part of your career would be spent repaying this debt. At this point, it is important to ask yourself the question, ‘What will happen if I fall sick or meet with an accident that disables me for a few years?’ The first thing that will come to your mind is your inability to work and earn an income. To cover this risk, you must invest in an individual disability insurance (IDI) policy.
It is not easy to focus your mind on something like disability insurance services when you are in your early 20s and to enjoy the bloom of youth. This is an age when you are in high spirits and in great health, and it is difficult to imagine something like disability, which is identified only with old folks. Now, that’s a perception that is wrong, and it affects even young doctors who know all about disability. As a young doctor, you cannot afford to have such a perception because 90% of disabilities are caused by illnesses that can affect people of any age. As a young doctor with a huge student loan to repay, you need cover against such a risk with a doctor’s disability insurance.
Understand the importance of disability insurance
Contrary to what a lot of young folks believe, disability is more of a risk for young people than for most other people. In fact, physicians disability insurance doesn’t cover senior individuals beyond retirement age mainly because at that age, people don’t have active incomes.
A healthcare professional’s disability insurance is designed mainly for doctors who have an income to protect. It is not meant for people past their retirement age, who are also likely to get disabled. The sole purpose of insurance against disability is to ensure that you get adequate income replacement when you are disabled.
It is also important to choose the right policy
While it is true that an IDI policy is the best cover against disability, it is also true that this policy cannot provide adequate coverage on its own. That’s because there are limits to the benefits that a healthcare professionals insurance policyholder can get from his/her policy.
This normally happens when you have been a doctor for over a decade, and your income has reached the 7-8 figure mark. In order to work around the inadequate cover of disability companies, you have to stack your current long-term IDI policy with a group long-term disability policy and get adequate coverage aganst disability.
It is a much better idea to get the help of insurance industry professionals like a reliable disability insurance broker. Such individuals know about insurance products and carriers much better than others. Instead of trying to understand the best insurance coverage against disability all by yourself, get the help of such a professional to optimize your cover.
