Most working professionals including doctors think of the different insurances they have to invest in, as a necessary pain that they must endure. Starting with health and accident insurance and then moving on to automobile and finally life insurance. When they buy property, there’s insurance for that as well. After all that, when they hear about disability insurance, the reactions can range from, “No way” to “Will think about it” among other excuses. Do you also think that way? If yes, it’s time to rethink because disability is real and can wreck your life if you are not prepared for it. It takes away your ability to work for the duration of disability and with it, your ability to earn a livelihood. If there’s a cover against that, why won’t you take it?
Surely, you can have a lot of questions about the benefits of investing in a doctors disability insurance and you should get your answers too. Here are some likely questions that you may have along with the answers:
Will this insurance compensate for my full salary?
A physicians disability insurance will partly compensate your salary up to the extent of 60-80% of the amount that you take home, after deductions. You can expect up to 80% compensation of your salary in case of a short term policy and up to 60% of your net income in case of a long term policy. Trying to get higher compensation than this will require you to pay a much higher premium.
I have employer’s group cover; do I still need this insurance?
It would be a mistake to assume that your employer’s group insurance cover will meet all your needs if you suffer disability at work. Check if your employer has provided you with healthcare professionals insurance even for disability due to illness or accident outside office premises and working hours? In most cases they don’t and that’s when you need to cover yourself well.
Why shouldn’t I save money with a short term policy?
A short term policy will surely save you some money but you must remember that the benefit period in short term healthcare professionals disability insurance policies do not exceed 6 months. This is not a comforting thought when you come to know that the average duration of disability in the United States is more than two and a half years. If you don’t work for that long you won’t have any income to pay your bills and that will create complications in your life.
How long after buying the policy can I get the benefits?
For short term policies the benefits are available in just a couple of weeks from the time you purchase the policy. For long term policies, it can take anywhere between a month and a couple of years for the benefits to become available for you. When you invest in a disability insurance policy early in your career, it always works out as an advantage during your claim at a later date.
Don’t back off from asking relevant questions about the policy to your disability insurance broker. You must always make an informed investment decision. Â