Disability insurance

[air bud]

Not trying to start a thread of hospital employed vs private practice, but a huge advantage of a large group is them providing disability insurance, both long term and short. Obviously there are differences if you pay vs. them and whether taxed vs not taxed, but still there is better negotiating power. The point is, make sure you have disability insurance, both short term and long term. Yeah it sucks if you have to pay premiums yourself, but it is important. You have car insurance, life insurance etc. Your life-long earning income is your biggest asset - protect it. Just be careful. Use an independent broker, don't get suckered by a NWM agent who then wants to talke about whole life ( universal or whatever BS product they are trying to market as - and no I did not do this and don't have whole life). Plenty of links on What You Need To Know About Physician Disability Insurance

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[PeaJay]

I could not agree more with your guidance.

It should be noted that the benefit/cost of theses products should be noted when looking at job offers. Total compensation is often overlooked in the discussions in this forum.

In my opinion, stable job with mediocre pay + long/short term paid + small life policy paid + Cadillac health + 401k w/match + cme days/$ + vacation is much better that hot shot status with big pay and minimal benefits

 

[heybrother]

Those benefits all have a cash value of some sort (...and if you are going private practice you will be offered very few of them - when I look at my private practice contract I already see my future job on the horizon). Being offered life insurance through your job is very nice, but I do believe you should also own your own policy to ensure continuity. I'll briefly share my experience recently purchasing a plan - there are very reasonable options out there that in my opinion are totally within the realm of even a poor resident to purchase.

Semi-recently had a baby. Knew I needed term from reading whitecoatinvestor. Thought about my needs, amount, family situation, life etc. Went to term4sale. Put in my variables and picked a plan - within an hour (actually within minutes) got contacted by all the agents who had received quote requests. Talked with the agent who immediately told me I was healthier than the plan I had requested and picked a plan for me that will save me several hundred a year. Yeah, I had to do an annoying hour long phonecall with the insurance company basically saying no I don't have pre-existing conditions. Yes, a nurse had to come and draw some blood and take height and weight measurements. Otherwise it was extremely straightforward. Level term - no changes in payment or payout through time (other than inflation) - I die - my family gets paid. I own the plan (not an employer - so if I move jobs it won't be an issue). I'm paying well under $1000 a year (there are so many options for time periods and $-values based on your needs) to know that my wife and kid will be able to meet there needs met if someone t-bones me in an intersection tomorrow. Even if I didn't have a kid it would still be the right thing to do - 7 years ago my wife left a job where she was valued and was rapidly being promoted to follow me around through podiatry - that's a career setback she won't easily be able to recover from.

 

[dpmgrad]

I agree with what has been said already about disability insurance. This is one insurance that is often overlooked. When obtaining disability insurance, make sure that it is an own occupation ("own-occ") policy specifically for Podiatry / Podiatric Surgery. There are only a handful of companies that offer own occ policies for Podiatry.

 

[MD Financial Services Scott]

Those benefits all have a cash value of some sort (...and if you are going private practice you will be offered very few of them - when I look at my private practice contract I already see my future job on the horizon). Being offered life insurance through your job is very nice, but I do believe you should also own your own policy to ensure continuity. I'll briefly share my experience recently purchasing a plan - there are very reasonable options out there that in my opinion are totally within the realm of even a poor resident to purchase.

Semi-recently had a baby. Knew I needed term from reading whitecoatinvestor. Thought about my needs, amount, family situation, life etc. Went to term4sale. Put in my variables and picked a plan - within an hour (actually within minutes) got contacted by all the agents who had received quote requests. Talked with the agent who immediately told me I was healthier than the plan I had requested and picked a plan for me that will save me several hundred a year. Yeah, I had to do an annoying hour long phonecall with the insurance company basically saying no I don't have pre-existing conditions. Yes, a nurse had to come and draw some blood and take height and weight measurements. Otherwise it was extremely straightforward. Level term - no changes in payment or payout through time (other than inflation) - I die - my family gets paid. I own the plan (not an employer - so if I move jobs it won't be an issue). I'm paying well under $1000 a year (there are so many options for time periods and $-values based on your needs) to know that my wife and kid will be able to meet there needs met if someone t-bones me in an intersection tomorrow. Even if I didn't have a kid it would still be the right thing to do - 7 years ago my wife left a job where she was valued and was rapidly being promoted to follow me around through podiatry - that's a career setback she won't easily be able to recover from.

Heck there are even a few carriers we can get up to $1 million of coverage now at Preferred Plus rates and have no lab work required on life insurance. There are disability carriers that will issue up to $20,000 per month of benefit with no lab work required when the right scenario presents itself. It is easier than ever to obtain coverage without a bunch of hassle.

 

[Redsting]

I have disability insurance through my employer but bought my own as well. Since theirs is capped at 5 years of payout and because its nice to own your own policy cause you don't know whats in store down the line. Plus is cheaper now than it would be at any other point in the future.

 

[Creflo]

Principal wrote my long term disability, bought while in residency.