4 Benefits to Investing in Physician Disability Insurance

Becoming a physician is a challenging process because you invest time, money, and effort in it before you start practicing it. This investment includes a four-year undergraduate program, four years in medical school and then three years minimum training as a resident doctor.

Investing in your future does not stop at this point. Instead, it evolves into something else. More specifically, you secure your future by planning for unfortunate events. Remember, planning for them does not mean that they will happen. It only means you are ready for them if they do. Here are 4 benefits to investing in physician disability insurance.

#1 - Protecting Your Income

The median wage for physicians is $208,000 annually. In contrast, the average salary for people with doctorate degrees is $81,400. That means physicians have a high standard of living compared to most Americans. What would happen if that standard of living dropped significantly because of disability? Remember, physicians move about the hospital all day checking on their patients, examining charts, and talking to nurses. Operating normally would be difficult for them if they have a disability. Disability insurance secures your income even if the medical organization you work for lets you go because of your disability.

#2 - Helping You Focus on Recovery

A recent study revealed that 20% of Americans live with a disability. Interestingly, only 2% of American physicians live with it. However, the same study shows that disability in the vast majority of physicians mostly occurs after they have completed their training. Studying for another career at this point is difficult because they have already spent a minimum of eleven years on this one. Pursuing this career is a challenging experience as well because they now have a disability that impedes their work. The solution to this predicament is disability insurance. It helps you focus on your recovery. In other words, changing careers is unnecessary as is straining your body with work. Instead, your insurer will take care of you as you recover from your disability.

#3 - Giving You Peace of Mind

Physicians deal with stressful situations every day. For example, some patients come into their office coughing only to leave it for emergency rooms because their condition worsened. Physicians also work for over ten hours a day making it hard for them to spend time with their loved ones. Disability insurance lifts some of this stress from your mind. More specifically, worrying about what will happen if you suffer from disability becomes unnecessary. Instead, you will live freely knowing that you and your immediate family members are secure even if something unfortunate happens to you. However, always take precautions to avoid disastrous incidents that lead to serious injuries.

#4 - Limiting the Accumulation of Debt

Over 40 million Americans have a student loan debt with 14% of them owing more than $50,000. As a physician, you already know how expensive medical school is. For example, the average student debt for a physician is $189,000. Consequently, financial prosperity is difficult for physicians because of this debt. Now imagine if a physician had to pay for health expenses brought about by a disability in addition to this debt. At the same time, the physician income would drop drastically because of this disability. That means the only recourse he has to meet his needs is borrowing money from loved ones or financial institutions. Physician disability insurance helps you avoid this situation. It does that by paying for your medical expenses in addition to supporting you financially when you have no income.