Happy Holidays,   For many Plastic Surgery Residents and Fellows this coming  year will mean the end of your training. Congratulations, you will have endured one of the roughest and toughest educational paths for any career. However, have you taken the time to protect yourself from harm? In other words have you made sure that your ability to earn an income in your specialty is properly protected? Believe it or not your ability to earn an income in your specialty can be valued anywhere from $5 to $15 million, making your skill set your number one asset. If you haven’t considered how much is at stake, its not too late. Purchasing Disability Insurance during residency or fellowship even in its waning days has significant advantages to waiting in private practice. A few of the reasons why this is so important are as follows:

Rates are usually significantly Cheaper during residency than in the private sector. Uni-sex rates for women are still available through most residency programs. If you have a medical history there are options available to you in while residency for protection at lower rates with no medical questions asked. Once you start you first day of practice your ability to purchase Professional insurance is severely limited by any group benefit disability programs your employer provides. Group Policies more times then not don’t provide the appropriate protection for highly skilled.Medical Specialists. (Think about it you are getting the same policy your employer provides to all workers in the organization including: Janitors, Secretaries, Nurses, ETC.) This protection should not be viewed as a primary source of security, but as a supplement to your professional protection.

The next 6 months are critical to you career, because they represent your last opportunity to get protection designed specifically for you at rates and products only available to you during training. If you haven’t yet looked into protecting your $10 million future income, now would be a good time to start. I suggest you find a specialist with experience who can help provide you with the piece of mind you deserve. Also remember if you already have a disability policy you want to begin tuning it up now, so that you are well prepared for whatever your future employment situation will be. For more on this subject please see our Tuning up your disability blog post.

For more information or to request a free quote please connect with incomeprotectionspecialist.com.  We are always available to help with any of your concerns.

By now, you know that the reason you as a specialist in Gastroenterology that you need disability insurance is to protect your income because of an injury or sickness that prevents you from earning one as a physician.  The potential loss is upwards of  $10 million. Needless to say that is lot of money, which is why insurance carriers or companies have special protections for themselves to limit the risk.  They do this with exclusions and limitations.  This enables the provider to dismiss a claim under certain circumstances. Each company has its own defined exclusions therefor it is imperative that you as a buyer thoroughly understand your policy.

Although there are definite distinctions between companies on exclusions, some are universal within the Insurance Industry. The most common are injuries or disabilities caused by illegal felonious activities, those that are self-inflicted, and acts of war. Just like any exclusion, the purpose of these standard limitations serves to limit or eliminate the risk faced by the insurance company. Let’s break them down

Felonies- In short, if you claim a disability due to a felony or attempted felony that you commit, the insurance company has the right to decline payment of your claim.

Self-inflicted injuries- If you claim a disability due to self-inflicted injury with the intention of defrauding an insurance company, your claim will not be honored.

Acts of War- This might seem simple but there are some claims under this category that can be excluded, which you might not have considered.  War by legal definition is an ongoing unresolved conflict. The Insurers use this broad definition as a means to exclude claims in this area.  Some basic exclusions include injuries or sickness related to acts of terrorism like the recent event in Las Vegas. Additionally, this definition allows the carrier the right to exclude claims sustained during marches and any other demonstration due to civil unrest. A good example of this could include controversies and demonstrations such as those we experience in St. Louis and the like.

It is incumbent upon your agent as a professional to review your policy with you.  In this way, you can ask relevant questions and be certain that you have a solid grasp of the defined limitations and exclusions contained within.

For 30 years Income Protection Specialist, an independent advisor free from insurance company bias and control, has focused on educating specialist and helping them make the right decision for themselves and their family. Why trust anyone other than a specialist.

Income Protection Specialist.com

The practice of medicine has come a long way in the last 100 yrs.  Just look at the BBC series “Quacks” and that should give you some point of reference.  The development of specialties and sub-specialties has created entirely new ways of practicing.  Take Anesthesiology for example, a specialty that was limited to primitive drugs at the turn of the 19^th century has spawned numerous sub specialties like Pain Management, Surgical Anesthesia and the like.  Each of which take years of training to begin practicing professionally.  Considering all that you have invested in your career, it is crucial that you cover yourself from the financial impact of a disability with a specialty specific, own occupation disability insurance policy.  You need to understand how this disability policy will work for you in your specialty.

All policies are unique to their respective owner.  Your personal disability income protection policy will be written to cover your duties for instance of you as a Surgical Anesthesiologist, Radiologist, ENT etc.  However, when a disability arises you may no longer be able to perform in that area should it be permanent.   The Own Occupation clause allows you to earn an income in another area of medicine or field and continue to collect your benefits.  This is wonderful because it provides you with options.

My hope is that you have a basic understanding of the value to owning a specialty specific policy and the benefits that can be derived from it.  IncomProtectionSpecialist.com has been assisting physicians just like you to secure the policies necessary to cover you in your area of expertise for 30 yrs.  Give us a call or email us and ask us about this invaluable coverage.

Disability Income Protection coverage is important to you as a specialist in Emergency Medicine, Anesthesia, Otolaryngology, Neuro Surgery and all of the other medical specialties.  You know that it provides you an income stream if you become disabled, but unless you already have a solid financial foundation and substantial savings it will most likely not cover your expenses if your disability is long term.  This is when we add a rider called the Cost of Living Benefit (COLA).

The Cost of Living Benefit or COLA as it is call in the industry is a product that offsets the impact of inflation on the benefits of your policy.  A COLA rider will adjust for inflation annually after 365 days of disability and every year thereafter.  It is customarily calculated by the consumer price index. The Consumer Price Index calculates the increase in cost of goods most commonly purchased by consumers from year to year. In other words, it puts a figure to the inflation you incur for typical purchases annually.

Every insurance provider has their own version of a COLA rider. They might adjust annually based on the fixed percentage determined from expected inflation. Other benefit packages will compound annually. In either case, it is important to be note that this important option is available to you. Yet as I mentioned earlier if your nest egg is solid and can cover the added expense brought on by inflation you may not need it.  Always talk with your insurance specialist and evaluate the need.  It might be necessary (and usually is) in the beginning of your career, but something that can be dropped as you become more financially stable.

Should you have any questions about this or any other disability protection topic please contact us at IncomeProtectionSpecialist.com.  We are always here to help.

Hi to all of you out there I am sure by now your summer is in full swing.  Many of you are preparing to begin your residencies as specialists in Anesthesia, Neurosurgery, Emergency Medicine, Radiology and the numerous other medical specialties and many of you are entering into private practice.  By now you should have already invested in your most valuable asset and purchased the best disability coverage for your income protection.  If you have not what are you waiting for?  Ok enough with the lecture today I want to talk about Business Overhead Expense Disability Insurance.  You are probably thinking ok but I am not going into my own practice right now or maybe never. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t understand what it is.  You never know what the future holds or if one of your colleagues will benefit from this information.  Lets get started.

Business Overhead Expense Insurance is a type of disability coverage that enables you to maintain your business as a specialist in Radiology in the event that you become disabled.  It covers the expenses for your Anesthesia practice until you are able to return or make alternate arrangements because you are permanently disabled.

What is covered?

• Most staff salaries (except you or other physicians)
• Accounting and Legal Fees
• Mortgage Interest or Rent
• Business Insurance Premiums
• Depreciation of Business owned Equipment
• Normal and Customary Fixed Expenses (utilities, cable, phone etc..)
• Professional Dues
• Property Taxes

Important definitions you should understand

• Waiting Period – shorter than personal coverage 30,60,90 days are available and should be chosen.  30 days is the most common
• Benefit Period – The period of time your coverage will pay.  Traditionally 12 months is sufficient which allows adequate recovery time or sale and liquidation of the business.  18 and 24 months are also available.
• Renewable – Your plan should be non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable( as long as you pay your premiums)
• Future Increase Option (FI) – Provided you the insured the opportunity to purchase additional benefits in the future without a medical exam.  However you must prove your financial insurability.

One more important feature is that your premiums are a tax deductible business expense.

Ok so that is about it in a nutshell.  At this point you have enough information to understand the value of Business Overhead Expense Protection should you ever need it.  For more detail and options available contact us at Income Protection Specialist and we will make sure you and your business are covered with the right policy and protection.

Emergency Medicine Residents Face many risks when applying for disability insurance. Some are caused by attempting to alleviate the stresses that come along with simply trying to become a physician. Consider an Emergency Medicine Resident putting in over 60 hours a week, running back and forth clad in scrubs down hospital corridors. That’s not even counting the additional hours spent studying. The most level headed individuals this would find this to be stressful. So our ER resident gets a prescription to help with stress or attention and energy levels.  Doing this can have serious side affects. Jump ahead and now the young physician is preparing to purchase his/her disability income and life protection for the first time. Now is the time that those side effects can have an impact on his/her financial plan.

When applying for Disability Insurance coverage everyone will have to answer a battery of questions the most important of which are medical.   Insurance companies will require some sort of physical exam along with blood work to help them to decide the type of risk they are willing to take on an individual. In addition they will require the applicant to supply them with a listing of prescriptions and the doctors they have seen in previous years (this includes contact information).  Information about ADD and Antidepressant prescriptions will send up a red flag to the insurance underwriter. This can delay the application process, possibly causing much higher premiums, handcuffs on specific coverage or in the worst case declination. This is not to suggest that he/she should forgo protecting his/her health.

This information is being made available simply to bring awareness to the possible side effects to your financial well-being.  Sir Francis Bacon once said “Knowledge is Power.”  There are pros and cons to every decision we make.   Now that you know the possible consequences of prescription medications as they relate to disability and life insurance coverage, you can make more educated choices when deciding whether or not to take a pill.

Congratulations, to all graduating residents.  All those years of hard work are about to pay off.  New, exciting and challenging experience await you as you enter into the work force.  You will be faced with career challenges that you never imagined, but this is what you have worked for.  Life begins now.

Just like you are preparing for your new job, now is the time to being planning for your financial future, starting with Disability Income Protection.   Are you aware that there are discounts available to you through your residency program right now?  These can drastically reduce the cost of your coverage.  I am not sure about you but anytime I can save money especially on something that I need and is ongoing, I am all in.  The savings are also applied to any future protection you add. While it may seem like something to address later, I say to you don’t wait too long.  Its like anything procrastination will only cost in the long run.  Plus, it is especially inexpensive the younger and healthier you are.

Stacia Musleh

V.P.  Income Protection Specialist

Not only is November the month for feasting and shopping but did you know that it is Long Term Care Awareness month. Roughly 70% of all people age 65 and older will need this protection which means that you most likely have family members that in this category.

Just like Income Protection insurance, Long Term Care Insurance is cheaper the younger you are.  A disability can wreak havoc on your financial stability and so can a long term illness.  Don’t let it.

Most Medical Professionals often start their careers with a significant amount of student debt.  This debt must be paid even if disabled.  However most disability insurance contracts are only designed to meet your personal needs at home and do not address the need for Student loan protection.

The Guardian, a leading provider of Specialty Specific Disability Insurance to Physicians has a solution.  They have developed a rider called “The Student Loan Protection Rider” that can be added to their top tier disability policies to address this issue.  When added to your underlying disability insurance policy issued by Guardian, this rider will pay you an additional monthly benefit up to amount of student loan protection on your policy.  This additional protection will provide the necessary funds needed to meet your monthly student loan obligation.

When looking for student loan protection this rider to your disability income protection policy definitely give Guardian a leg up on the competition.  You just may want to look into it further.