You’ve dedicated your life to caring for others. After years of education, long nights during residency, and countless hours building your career, you’ve developed something incredibly valuable. But it’s not your home, your investments, or even your practice.
It’s your ability to earn an income.
Whether you’re a family doctor, pathologist, pediatrician, or neurosurgeon, your income is your most powerful financial power. And like any asset that valuable, it needs protection. That’s why disability insurance is not just a recommendation. It’s a financial foundation every physician should have in place.
What Makes Disability Insurance for Doctors Different?
Most traditional disability policies are not built with the medical profession in mind. They might offer broad coverage, but they often fail to reflect the highly specialized and physical nature of what physicians do every day.
Consider this: a dermatologist who loses fine motor skills might still work in a more general role, and a family physician with chronic back pain might shift into consulting. But both scenarios could mean a steep drop in income.
That’s where own-occupation disability insurance becomes essential. A true own-occupation policy pays benefits if you can no longer perform the duties of your specific medical specialty, even if you are able to work in another capacity. It protects your ability to earn at the top of your field, not just your ability to work in general.
The Surgeon’s Nightmare: Why This Coverage Matters
To see why this matters, think about a surgeon. Years of dedication have refined their skills into something precise, valuable, and irreplaceable. But a single tremor, a nerve injury, or the onset of arthritis could take all of that away.
This isn’t just inconvenient. It’s career-ending.
That’s why many physicians purchase disability insurance during residency. It’s an incredibly smart move; premiums are lower and you are likely in peak health.
But here’s where many doctors go wrong. They never update the policy.
Let’s say you took out a policy as a resident earning $60,000 a year. Ten years later, you are earning $450,000 as a highly skilled specialist. If you become disabled and your policy hasn’t been adjusted, your monthly benefits might still be based on that original resident income. The gap between what you earn and what you receive could be financially devastating.
Why You Should Give Your Disability Policy a Check-Up
Just like you would monitor a patient’s changing health needs, your disability insurance should be reviewed regularly. Here are a few things to look for:
Income Growth
If your income has grown, your coverage should grow too. Many quality policies include Future Increase Options (FIOs) or Benefit Update Riders, which let you increase your coverage as your income rises, often without having to go through new medical underwriting.
Specialty Protection
Make sure your policy defines disability based on your specific medical specialty, not just any job. This ensures you’re covered if you can no longer do the exact work you’ve trained for.
Inflation Protection
A Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) rider increases your benefits over time while you’re on claim, helping your coverage keep up with inflation.
Renewability and Stability
Look for policies that are non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable. This means your premiums cannot increase and your policy cannot be canceled as long as you continue to pay your premiums.
Partial Disability Benefits
Sometimes, a disability limits your hours or duties but doesn’t prevent you from working altogether. A partial disability rider can make up the difference by covering part of your lost income.
Don’t Let One Moment Undo a Lifetime of Work
Whether you’re in the OR, making rounds, consulting remotely, or running a busy practice, your income powers your life and your future. It deserves the same level of protection you offer your patients every day.
If you are a resident just starting out, a practicing physician, or a seasoned specialist, now is the time to review your disability insurance. If your policy hasn’t been touched since your training days, it’s probably not enough.
At Rollo Insurance, we work with doctors across Texas and beyond to help ensure their coverage reflects the full value of their skills. Our advisors understand the complexities of medical-specific policies and will guide you through everything from benefit riders to future income protection.
Your health supports your practice. Your income supports your life. Make sure both are protected.
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