Disability Insurance

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Hi everyone,
I am in the last few months of chief year in oral surgery and realize that I have to start making real financial decisions. The first and most important protection is disability insurance. I wanted to ask my colleagues if they preferred one company over another and why? And if they had advice on specifics to look for when deciding which company to continue with.....
Thank you for your time and help. It is greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by JLdmd

Hi everyone,
And if they had advice on specifics to look for when deciding which company to continue with.....

Congratulations on your accomplishment. Here is a good site:

http://www.disabilityinsuranceforums.com/

For dental, Guardian writes some of the most desirable own occupation policies. The site should give you a good basis and avenues to search from.

Hi JL-
Graduated this past summer from an oral surgery residency. Had the same queries during my last 6 months of the program...
Went with Treloar and Heisel-
http://www.th-online.net/
Great disability package offered by a group that works w/ a very large number of oral surgeons.
In terms of liability insurance, OMSNIC is the way to go. Around 88% of all oral surgeons are insured by them. In order to qualify, you have to be a member of AAOMS... I would suggest starting the AAOMS membership process right now while you're in the last few months. Very straightforward process.
Any ?s about this stuff, or the first year out in practice, PM me. Also can give some advice about the job hunt if you're planning on private practice.
Congratulations on almost finishing. You're gonna love life after residency
Best-

I have had Treolar Heisel for 11 years. I bought mine during the last year of my ortho residency. I believe I get paid $5000 a month if I become disabled. There is a 90 day waiting period. I currently pay $1700/year for this policy. I am thinking of canceling this disability policy since I no longer have student loan debt.

I'm also with T&H. I get $15k/month for disability. The cost is ~$400/month.

Many specialists (or newly graduated specialists) go with T&H. All of our individual academies recommend them.

Thanks you everyone for the good advice. I think the majority of replies voted for T&H so I will definitely inquire more. As for further questions, I will absolutely come to this forum in the near future seeing that I am clueless with life after residency. However, I am sooo super excited to finish and start living a normal life.
Thanks again all. Its nice to know this community is open share and discuss information.

JL

Hey guys, you do realize that T&H is not an underwriter right? Trust me, you don't have disability with them. They are just your broker.

Also, be aware that disability income is tax-free as long as you don't pay for your premiums with pre-tax money.

Originally Posted by yojimbo53

Hey guys, you do realize that T&H is not an underwriter right? Trust me, you don't have disability with them. They are just your broker.

Also, be aware that disability income is tax-free as long as you don't pay for your premiums with pre-tax money.

Yes, T&H offers disability policies through different company, although I think they recommend Guardian. I have a Guardian policy through a broker in NY. I pay $187/mo for a $3000 benefit, 90 day waiting period. I've had this policy for 6 years. T&H looked at my Guardian policy a few years ago and recommended I keep my existing policy because they were unable to offer me a better one. My policy has a tiny clause in there called "lifetime extension." Guardian will continue to pay out some portion of benefit for life depending on the age when the disability happens - apparently they don't offer this anymore. However, I appreciated the T&H's honesty and am consulting them for my other insurance needs. Rates are probably cheaper if you are male. Mine is a unisex rate because I am female.

Originally Posted by gryffindor

Rates are probably cheaper if you are male. Mine is a unisex rate because I am female.

Yours does seem high. I'm getting 5x the $ coverage for 2x the premium. Then again, mine is through Mass Mutual.

Any recommendations on what (if anything) we should be doing for disability while still in residency?

Originally Posted by armorshell

Any recommendations on what (if anything) we should be doing for disability while still in residency?

Personally I still have the free thing from the ADA - or they might have started charging me like 30 bucks a year for it....this is minimal coverage though compared to the 4 bucks an hour I am used to as a resident. /sarcasm

I was going to look into T&H starting second year or so. A few of my co-residents use them and the rates during residency years are reasonable.

Reviving this old thread because my wife is about to graduate from dental school and needs disability insurance. We are in a unique situation because I am a medical resident so we don't really feel that she will be the long term primary income earner in our family. However, we do want her to be able to at least recoup the costs of her education in the event of a disability, and it would be nice to get a little more than that.

After doing some research, it seems to me that the ADA plan through great west life would be a very cheap option that seems on the surface to meet the needs of our situation. Basically we are looking to get approx 3000-5000/month with the option to increase if we have a greater reliance on her salary than we think right now. Is there any drawback I should know about when comparing this policy to others?

runnerdoc7 ... I know this is a very late response, but I do not suggest going through great western life, nor purchasing a DI policy based on price alone, as the quality of a DI contract lies in the wording of the contract. I do not suggest the ADA plan over an individual DI policy for several reasons; it is a limited plan that is owned by the Association (you simply receive a certificate), your ability to increase your benefit without medical underwriting (which is very important) is also limited to only a few hundred dollars at a time, and if you ever cancel your membership with the Association you will lose your coverage altogether. I recommend MetLife, Guardian, Mass and maybe Principal for physicians and dentists. Make sure you purchase True Own Occupation, Residual Rider, FIO/GIO, COLA, and as a resident you most likely have a discount available through your program. Also you can elect for price-sensitive options to pay your premiums so that you can secure a quality policy at a initially-lower premium. Speak with an experience insurance broker who specializes in DI. I happen to be one, so feel free to contact me should you have any questions. Good luck.

Hello,

I am a recently graduated dentist and just started doing part time job as an independent contractor, so I am not getting any benefit from my employer. I did not think about disability insurance earlier, but after reading this post I feel like I should get disability insurance. So please let me know what would be good plan to sign up as a fresh graduate as I am not earning much and I want to get some assurance through my DI in case if something goes wrong.

I would appreciate your responses.

Thanks..

Originally Posted by green dentistry

Hello,

I am a recently graduated dentist and just started doing part time job as an independent contractor, so I am not getting any benefit from my employer. I did not think about disability insurance earlier, but after reading this post I feel like I should get disability insurance. So please let me know what would be good plan to sign up as a fresh graduate as I am not earning much and I want to get some assurance through my DI in case if something goes wrong.

I would appreciate your responses.

Thanks..

green dentistry ... sorry for the late response. Refer to my earlier post for the ideal DI companies, as well as the options/riders you should be looking for when purchasing a policy.

Just a heads up, you mentioned working part time. In order to qualify for an individual policy, you will need to be working a minimum of 30 hours per week. If price is an issue, there are several options available to you to lock in a great policy at a low premium. Moreover, if price is an issue, you should absolutely consider purchasing now, as premium rates are based on age (as well as other factors such as sex, specialty, etc.).

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. The best place to start is determining whether you are eligible.
Goodluck!