While sitting here trying to get over my writers block, I began to wonder about the possible topics for this blog. Of the numerous thoughts came to mind there was one that seemed to stick out above the rest, women and disability insurance as part of their overall risk management portfolio. According to Pew Research, women account for almost half of the U.S. Labor force today that’s around 47%. The employment rate of married mothers with children has increased from 37% in 1968 to 65% in 2011. In another research that was gathering data on the percentage of Women graduating from medical school the findings showed much the same. As of 2005, women accounted for 47.1% of all medical school graduates. That was a large part of the medical population as of 10 years ago. The stats are bound to be better today. Many of these women have gotten married and now have children, which puts them into the Pew Research statistics. This only drives home the point that the need for income protection where working mothers who are also physicians are concerned.
Think about your family structure as a finely tuned piece of medical equipment. Each part takes on an independent role but one cannot work effectively or possibly at all without the other. As a working mother myself, I am acutely aware of what can happen if a disability were to occur and how it would affect the family machine. Not only the obvious roadblocks such who is going to run the general errands or get the kids to their designated activities but the most crucial aspect of losing a chunk of money because your half of the in-come is not coming-in (little pun there). When you think about your family in this way, it only illuminates the reality of what could happen to your lifestyle if part of the earning power was out of service. Protecting your income is just as important to the overall stability of your family machine as college education planning for your children.
Maybe you are married or maybe you are not. You might be just entering your career in medicine or perhaps you are already established, either way as a women you need to make certain that your number one asset (your ability to provide) is secure and protected.
Stacia Musleh
V.P. Income Protection Specialist.com
