disability insurance

[eyescold]

Now that I'm finished with training and actually have an income to protect, I'm trying to lock down a disability policy.
It seems clear that an "own-occupation" policy is a given, but does anyone have any specific carrier recommendations or ones to avoid? I would love to hear any thoughts particularly about Northwest Mutual's "medical-occupation" definition and if anyone went this route. Thanks in advance!

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[KHE]

Another thing to consider is a future insurability policy. If you are just starting out, it's highly likely that your income will increase over time. Some policies have a rider that allow you to increase your benefit to a certain level without having to undergo another physical. That can be particularly valuable as you get older.

 

[MR Insurance]

There is another SDN thread on this that you can find here.
The White Coat Investor blog is also a great resource for this issue and can be found here.

I would agree with you that Own-Occupation is a must, particularly if you want a policy that will pay benefits if an injury/illness renders you unable to work as an Ophthalmologist, even if you select to go work in some other capacity.
Depending on your circumstances, you will want to be sure your policy includes residual or partial disability benefits, a COLA rider (assuming you are fairly young), and possibly a Future Purchase Option (although you mentioned that you are already earning an Attending income which reduces the need for this rider). It also helps to have a non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable policy which prevents the insurance company for altering your plan features or pricing until age 65, assuming you pay your premiums timely. Most of the top carriers will include each of these features.

In my opinion, the key is to find an experienced and unbiased agent to work with. They'll help you review multiple policies, rather than just one, and help you make an informed decision. In my opinion, you'll want to focus on Guardian, MetLife, Standard and Principal, but could also include Ameritas and Massachusetts Mutual in the mix.

 

[MD Financial Services Scott]

The main carriers in the market are Guardian, Met, Standard, Principal, Ameritas, Mass and Ohio that have the True Own Specialty Definition that will continue to pay you 100% of the benefit you purchased even if you go into another field and regardless of the amount of income you then make. All have different features but at the end of the day they are priced based on your age, gender, medical specialty and state of residency.