disability insurance

[quinsy]

Hi everyone:

I'm trying to find a good disability insurance to get started now, am graduating in June.

I've done a search and looked at some of the past threads on this, and the claim was generally that there were very few companies offering own-occupation policies, the exceptions being Standard, Guardian, and MetLife. I therefore submitted requests for quotes to those companies online. (no responses yet)

My institution has some sort of affiliation with a company called InsMed, and I met with the representative to discuss it. It seemed like a decent deal, and they used most of the right words like 'non-cancellable' etc. and allowed for adjustments in payout as your salary increases, and plus it was gender neutral, which apparently should benefit me, as a woman. I just didn't like what happened when I didn't sign on the spot. The rep had made up a contract for me while we talked and she passed it to me and expected me to sign immediately, even though this is a long term, expensive commitment. I said "no, I want to have time to think about this first." and she looked surprised and said "well, why don't you just sign the contract, and then if you decide you don't want it, tell me and I'll shred the contract" (!!). This did not sound good to me and I said no again. She said "I'm sure you won't find a better deal, but if that's what you want..."

So - I wasn't very happy with that interaction, but that doesn't mean it's a bad policy. When I look at the paperwork, it appears that InsMed is selling me a policy from The Standard company. How does that differ from me just buying a policy directly from The Standard? I find this very confusing. You would think that another company would not make money from doing this unless they were charging an additional fee.

The policy from The Standard is $172.23 monthly for a $5,000 per month benefit (for me: gender neutral, own occupation in emergency medicine, includes residual disability, COLA, future purchase option, nonsmoker discount), which is more than what other people have quoted on here, but I don't know if the people quoting those costs were men and had lower rates because of it. It does not require me to have a physical or blood drawn.

Also, another fellow resident referred me to a company called DoctorDisability (www.doctordisability.com) and I've asked them for a quote too, but it seems like a fairly new company. They do require a blood draw.

Does anyone here have further feedback on how I should do this, or know anything about the companies InsMed or DoctorDisability? Your help is much appreciated, I find this a confusing process to comparison shop within. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[southerndoc]

You really need to find an independent agent that will help you find the policy that's best for you. There are subtle differences between MetLife, Guardian, and Standard (those are the only 3 that will insure as own occupation). A good agent will help you navigate those differences, and will guide you in choosing what's best for you.

I purchased my policy while a resident in CT through the agent that my residency hospital used. He was a great asset during the process. Never pushed me to buy anything, explained things clearly, was readily available for questions, and was worth his weight in gold when he helped me overcome being turned down because of an exposure to schistosomiasis while working in Zambia.

I can give you his name, but I don't think you can purchase from him unless you're in Connecticut. Ask graduates of your program who they used.

 

[DI EXPERT]

quinsy - southerndoc provides valuable advice. locate a broker who will take the time to help you comprehend the differences between the policies. All 3 are quality carriers - but not understanding their differences could be costly. For example, the carrier's treat mental/nervous disorder claims very differently. One will limit your benefit period to 2 years while the other will not place any limitations. The execution options of future purchase benefits vary greatly as well. A good broker will take the time to get to know you and reccomend a carrier based on your unique needs.

 

[EM2BE]

What about disability offered through your residency program? Are those usually good for what we would need for the length of residency?

 

[gutonc]

What about disability offered through your residency program? Are those usually good for what we would need for the length of residency?

It's better than nothing. And considering that my disability policy went from <$500 a year to >$2500 a year when I went on an NIH training grant (and therefore was no longer eligible for the group policy...it's a long story and the GME office paid me back for it), it's likely all you can afford for now. But be sure you crank it up when you finish training and go out in the real world.

 

[MR Insurance]

Quinsy

You mentioned a lot of different things in your post so I will try to touch on each issue.

Own Occupation
First of all, you are doing very well noting the importance of "Own-Occupation". Additionally you also noted that only few insurance carriers are offering the True Own Occupation definition of disability that assists Physicians in protecting their medical specialty.

To assist you a bit more, you should actually understand the difference between the two definitions - True Own Occupation and Modified Own Occupation.
True Own Occupation: defines total disability as the inability to perform the material duties of your occupation, even if you are able to work in some other occupation.
Modified Own Occupation: defines total disability as the inability to perform the material duties of your occupation, and you must not be working in another capacity.

The True Own Occupation definition will pay you benefits if you are unable to perform your medical specialty, even if you are able to perform a different specialty or occupation. Therefore truly providing you with Own Occupation protection.

The Standard Policy
The affiliation your institution/program has with Standard is fairly new to the industry. As you mentioned, it allows Residents to obtain up to $5000 of coverage, without requiring medical exams or medical history. Additionally it allows you to qualify for gender neutral pricing, which is great for women.

This is a multi-life discount arrangement that was established in order to assist medical residents, and is a very competitive program. The only thing you should be sure to do is compare the provisions of this policy with those available from other companies like Guardian, Principal, Union Central and MetLife.


Disability Insurance pricing
You mentioned that the pricing seemed higher than others have mentioned. Pricing for Disability insurance depends on a lot of things, one of which is occupation classification. The occ class assigned to ER Physicians is lower (higher risk, higher premium) than some other types of physicians.

Company recognition

Both InsMed and DoctorDisability are quite simply insurance brokers. This means they have access to many different insurance carriers and select to represent whichever ones they select. It is similar to going directly to an insurance company, but the primary difference is you get the multiple perspectives of each of your options.

There are many websites out there like DoctorDisability, such as DisabilityQuotes.com , MRDisabilityQuotes.com , DIQuotes.com , etc. These are all good sources to get information and purchase a policy through. Although these websites or companies may seem newer, the people working behind the scenes are actual insurance agents. More importantly they are experienced Disability agents.

It is good to receive multiple perspectives and opinions, but ultimately you don't want to be talking with sooo many people that it becomes a daunting and miserable experience.

Feel free to PM me if you need further assistance.