Disability
Physicians Look to Group Coverage    

by Patricia M. Pfeifer
The business of medicine is becoming harder than ever to manage. Today’s doctors have to practice medicine while balancing rising costs of malpractice insurance with reductions in reimbursements.

These financial realities are prompting many physicians to reevaluate their disability insurance premiums. Many are considering group disability insurance policies as a low-cost option for quality protection. They can reduce premiums and maintain quality disability insurance coverage by combining specialized group and individual policies.

Medical professionals understand the considerable advantages of group disability coverage. After all, doctors see the physical effect of disabling medical conditions first hand and they understand the need to protect their most important asset, their ability to earn an income over a 30- to 40-year medical career. Most doctors need significant amounts of disability insurance to protect their long-term earnings potential against disabling accidents or illnesses.

Specialty Coverage for Physicians

The newest group coverage offers significant benefits and features for physicians at a fraction of the cost of individual policies. Many group long-term disability policies provide benefits of up to $15,000 a month. The better policies include “own-specialty” and “sub-specialty” disability definitions, meaning physicians receive benefits even if they are able to practice medicine in a different specialty than their own. An insured is considered disabled if they are unable to perform one or more of the essential duties of their specialty or sub-specialty. Generally, board certification is not required to determine that something is a specialty.
        
Extended and Progressive Benefits

The better group long-term disability policies include a benefit that takes the medical professional’s special risks into account, including infectious diseases, progressive illnesses, continued loss of income after returning to work, and loss of income to a practice.

Most salaried executives earn the same salary after returning to work after a disability. But doctors often continue losing income after recovering from a disability, especially doctors who run small practices. Many patients may have been referred to other practices and fewer patients may be referred to them. 

Exposure to contagious diseases is another income-related hazard. Let’s face it; doctors spend a lot of time around sick people and, despite being cautious, they risk catching their patients’ maladies. In addition, the likelihood of becoming disabled increases with age. Like the rest of American society, the population of physicians is getting older too, making them susceptible to progressive conditions, such as arthritis.

Doctors can help protect themselves with a group long-term disability policy that has an extended protection benefit. If the insured continues to lose income beyond the triggering level, the benefit pays a portion of the original long-term disability benefit. The amount is based on a proportionate income loss formula.

Progressive illness benefits protect physicians if their income decreases slowly due to a progressive debilitating illness or condition. A person who suffers from a progressive illness may never qualify for disability benefits because the dip in their monthly income never reaches the loss threshold required to trigger payment. To counter this problem, it’s possible to get a policy that establishes the insured’s pre-disability earnings at a higher income when the diagnosis of a progressive illness was reported or at their current income.

Accidental dismemberment and loss of sight benefit protects doctors’ incomes if they lose their sight or a limb even if they are able to continue working in their chosen specialty. Any remaining benefit is paid to a survivor if the insured dies while on claim.

Portability Problem Solved

Given their extraordinary need for high quality disability insurance, many physicians know nearly as much about their coverage as the agents who sell and service the policies. So why haven’t more physicians gravitated to group coverage until now?

Doctors have relied on individual long-term disability policies because of their portability. A doctor who owns an individual policy can continue coverage even if they go to work for a new practice or start their own practice. Group long-term disability policies also offer continued coverage without proof of insurability if the doctor leaves their current practice. This can be critical, especially if a doctor suffers from a medical condition that could affect their future insurability.

Help Physicians Focus on Patients

Financial pressures are prompting more and more physicians to consider affordable ways to manage disability risks. Group long-term disability coverage is becoming increasingly popular and will only become more so in the future.

You can perform a real service to physicians and the professionals they employ by helping medical practices get the specialty group disability coverage they need at a reasonable price. Doing so will help the doctors concentrate on practicing medicine instead of worrying about the financial consequences of a disabling accident or illness.
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Patricia M. Pfeifer, GBDS is physician segment program manager for group disability and group life insurance for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. She can be reached at patricia.pfeifer1@hartfordlife.com.