Written By Caitlin See
Earning a position as a resident or fellow is an exciting moment in a young physician’s career. After years of dedication and financial commitment to your education, it’s important to protect your investment and future earning potential. One of the best ways to protect yourself is by carrying an individual disability insurance policy in the event of a long-term injury, illness or other medical condition that would prevent you from practicing medicine.
The challenge is that residents and fellows often forgo this critical level of protection. The income in residency and fellowship is typically lower. Since finances are tight, the cost of disability insurance might outweigh the risk of disability. This is especially true if you are young and healthy.
Unfortunately, the future is unpredictable. The good news is that there are numerous ways to reduce the cost with residency and fellowship training discounts on disability insurance. The key is knowing where to look.
What disability insurance discounts can residents and fellows qualify for?
As you age, your health generally declines, putting you at higher risk of suffering a long-term illness or injury that can disrupt your career and earning potential. Digging into your already tight budget to buy disability insurance when you’re young might seem like an unnecessary expense.
Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between saving money and getting this valuable insurance coverage for “what if” scenarios.
Many residency and fellowship training discounts are available for disability insurance. Premium discounts on disability insurance typically range anywhere from 5% to 45%, depending on your medical specialty, gender, state of residence and other influencing factors. It also depends on which insurance carrier you choose.
For example, the “Big 5” disability insurance carriers like Principal, Ameritas, Standard and MassMutual all offer an across-the-board discount for resident physicians and fellows.
In addition, some residency programs offer discounts through a specific insurance agency. This might be through a guaranteed standard issue (GSI) policy, which can be a great option if you have a pre-existing condition, and in some cases, if you’re female. Or it might be in the form of an exclusive discount that’s only available to some insurance brokers.
Here are a few examples of discounts that might be available through these programs:
- 10% discount for accepting a mental health limitation. This lowers the premium by restricting how long you can receive disability income for a qualifying psychiatric condition.
- 10% discount for certain occupations within the medical field.
- Various discounts for women through an available unisex-rated policy.
Not only do these discount options save money today but getting disability insurance early in your career can reduce your insurance expenses in the long run. It gives you the peace of mind of allowing you to lock in lower rates while you are young and healthy.
Many affordable disability insurance policies give you the option to increase coverage later when you’re earning a higher income as an attending physician. Let SLP Insurance evaluate your coverage needs and run the numbers to find the best discounts available for own-occupation disability insurance.
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SLP Insurance will find you the best price even if it's not with us. Fill out the form below to get discounts of up to 30%.
Finding the right residency and fellowship training discounts on disability insurance
Not all disability insurance brokers are aware of or can access the same discounts. And not all insurance agents are motivated by simply finding the best match at the best rate. So, who you work with is critical to getting the best policy at the best price.
It’s highly recommended that you avoid disability insurance agents who work for a single insurance provider. Since they represent that specific carrier, they’re more likely to promote only the programs and discounts offered by their employer. It’s how they get paid, so there’s a serious conflict of interest. Conversely, an independent insurance broker — like SLP Insurance — isn’t bound by one insurance company.
Instead, we’ll search the “Big 5” disability insurance companies known for own-occupation coverage to find you the best coverage and discounts. There’s no such thing as having no conflict of interest at all, but we have no obligation to give business to one broker over another. We’ll always send you to another broker if we’re aware of a better deal.
How do you know that you’re working with the right person? Selecting the right agent is easy as long as you ask the right questions upfront. Here are some important questions to use when shopping for an insurance broker:
- Will you send me the best policy even if you don’t earn a commission? If you have access to a GSI policy and it’s not presented as an option, the agent could have intentionally (or unintentionally) overlooked it.
- What special discounts do you have access to? Some insurance brokers have unique discounts that others don’t. For example, SLP Insurance has an exclusive discount with one insurance carrier that you won’t find elsewhere. Be sure to ask about residency and fellowship training discounts on disability insurance, as well as others.
- Will you refer me to another disability insurance broker for a better deal? This question will show how willing they are to manage their own conflict of interest to ensure you’re getting the best premium rates.
- How long have you been selling disability insurance policies? Some insurance brokers are willing to share their discounts with other brokers. But if you aren’t working with an experienced broker, they might not even know about certain discounts — which means you could be missing out on huge savings.
Uncovering the best discounts on disability insurance
Fellowship program and residency training discounts can allow you to take advantage of substantial savings now and protect your future income for years to come.
SLP Insurance will examine GSI opportunities, search the “Big 5” and hunt down the best discounts to find you the most affordable specialty-specific disability insurance coverage. If we know of a better discount available elsewhere, SLP Insurance will refer you to that broker — no strings attached. Fill out the disability insurance quote form below to get started.
Compare disability insurance quotes and save
SLP Insurance will find you the best price on own occupation coverage, even if it's not with us. Fill out the form below for a quote with up to 30% discounts.
