I'm working on an article about long term disability insurance. Can you help?

[JournalistInOhio]

Hello physicians and forum users:

I am a journalist working on an article for UBM Media (Medical Economics and Physician Practice magazines) on long-term disability insurance for physicians.

This will be a feature story that will serve as a guide on LTD insurance for physicians: when (ideally) to purchase it; who to work with; policy features to consider; etc.

A lot of physicians don’t secure this type of insurance and then, when something happens, they aren’t protected -- and neither is their medical practice.

This article will look at why physicians should consider securing LTD insurance and how to go about finding the right coverage. I would love to talk to:

• Sources who work in the long-term disability insurance field (specifically for physicians)

• Doctors with LTD plans (who can share experiences)

• Physicians who were (or are) disabled and who may be able to speak about the value of coverage.

Because internal medicine physicians, preferably at small to mid-sized independent practices, are our audience, I would prefer to talk to them, but any primary-care physician would be a valued source as well. Thank you so much.

If you are interested in potential helping other physicians by sharing your experiences, please let me know in the comments below or simply email me at [email protected]

Thank you so much!

John

 

[ajm184]

Start here: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-disability-insurance/

BTW, disability insurance is primarily designed to protect an individual not a practice.  There are certainly issues with a practice (especially small/mid sized ones) when the primary revenue generator is out due sickness/disability.  If the timing and length of absence is known, usually you can get colleagues in the area to step in.  This occurred with my wife post-pregnancy who ran a solo practice at the time for two or three weeks.  For longer term, a physician would potentially go the locum tenens route which I have seen done locally but is usually not a one for one replacement in terms of hours worked, more for 'keeping the lights on'.

[Hank]

You might want to address the differences between group and individual disability insurance policies, true own occupation insurance versus more limited policies (often at comparable costs), and gender discrimination in insurance rates.  (No one would think to charge different premia based on race, but apparently it's okay to discriminate based on gender.)

A few of the advertisers on this forum are quite knowledgeable and decent brokers for disability insurance.  A number of physicians here have gone through the decision of when to buy a policy, when to increase it, and when to drop disability insurance.  Unfortunately, a few folks here have had to use their policies.  Hopefully they can share their experiences, good and bad, to save others from trouble down the road.

Salesmen target physicians for a lot of overpriced, inappropriate insurance products.  A reasonably priced, high quality disability insurance policy isn't one of these bad products.

EDIT: posted a reply about long term care, not disability insurance.

[JournalistInOhio]

My post is essentially my assignment, but I am not going to back into a thesis.

I am trying to be true to my audience and provide information ... and hopefully share experiences of those who might have used LTD insurance and those who haven't.

I am entering this with an open mind and skepticism about any general statements.

If LTD insurance is a bad idea for some people, I want to share that info.

Eager for more thoughts, including those from physicians who have decided to buy LTD, those who haven't and those who have made a claim.

[CM]

Hank wrote:

It sounds like you’ve been hired to write an advertisement for long term care insurance disguised as an article.

Start with the more basic question of whether someone should buy long term care insurance. Proceed from there to who might want to buy it and who probably shouldn’t or couldn’t.

Somehow I doubt you’ll get paid for your article if you reach the conclusion that many or most physicians (or other people) probably shouldn’t buy long term care insurance.

P.S. There are some good threads and articles here about this insurance. As a rule of thumb, if you have less than $500K in net worth you’re going to use Medicaid for long term care. If you have $1M or more you can self insure. If you have a net worth at retirement between $500K to $1M, you might be a candidate for LTC insurance, but the product still has a whole lot of problems and pitfalls.

Click to expand...

There appears to be a misunderstanding here. Long term care insurance is not disability insurance.

[JournalistInOhio]

Great point, CM.

This article is about Long Term Disability Insurance.

Thank you.

[JournalistInOhio]

Thank you so much for the response to this request. I had many financial experts reach out. I've set up interviews with them.

I am still looking for physicians -- especially internal medicine docs -- who might want to share their experience buy long term disability insurance and their experiences if they've had to make a claim.

Feel free to respond to this board or email me directly at:

[email protected]

 

Thank you!