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Report Outlines Need for Disability Insurance

Rev DiCerto

August 2009
Practice Management News

A recently released report, Physician’s Guide to Purchasing Disability Insurance, by Michael Reiman, a financial planner and founder of Reiman Financial in Dallas, contains important advice for physicians. The report is available online (at www.reimanfinancial.com).

An overview of the factors that a physician should consider when shopping for disability coverage, the report begins with a Physicians’ Checklist of items to keep in mind when reviewing various plans. It answers a number of important questions, such as these:

• How much disability insurance will a physician need?
• What different contracts are available?
• What levels of coverage should physicians consider?
• What factors can change over time?
• What types of problems can such changes cause?

Filling the Gaps
For physicians seeking to avoid the most common pitfalls, Reiman describes the various benefits and features of disability policies. “A disability policy will pay you a monthly benefit if you become disabled from an illness or an injury depending on what your contract defines as a disability and the exclusions in your contract,” the report says. “The provisions of your contract may depend upon your specialty… For example, surgeons and dermatologists are in different classes. Some classes will not be eligible for certain features and the premium will vary according to the class.”

It’s important to note that policies vary greatly in terms of how they define a disability, and, depending on the definition, benefits can be reduced or denied.

The report explains the own-occupation definition of total disability. A policy that provides own-occupation coverage will provide benefits if the physician becomes disabled and is unable to perform the duties of his or her specific occupation. Own-occupation policies are more costly than other types of disability insurance. But Reiman ....

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