Pretty substantial, all things considered. Among white-collar professionals, doctors are significantly more likely to become disabled than our counterparts in law, accounting, business management and administration.
The odds having at least one long-term disability that lasts three months or longer by the time you’re 65 varies with your current age:
What’s more, according to the Society of Actuaries, of those disabled at age 24, a staggering 46.2 percent of them were still disabled after five years.
- Of those who were 35 at the time of the disability onset, 53.7 percent of them were still disabled after five years.
- The average individual disability insurance claim lasts 31.6 months, according to research from General Re.
- 1 in 8 workers will be disabled for 5 years or more during their working careers, as reported by the Council for Disability Awareness.
- Half of all home foreclosures in 2006 were related to disability, according to the US Census Bureau.
“But I’m Covered By Workers Compensation.”
Workers compensation only covers disabilities that arise as a result of work-related injuries during covered employment. If you are a doctor working as an independent contractor, you are generally responsible for your own coverage.
Furthermore, according to the Council for Disability Awareness, only 5% of disabilities are work-related. That means 95% of all disabilities fall outside of workers compensation coverage. Consider also that 90% of disability claims are caused by illnesses, not accidents.
Top Causes of New Disability as of 2012:
- Musculoskeletal/connective tissue disorders (28.5%)
- Cancer (14.6%)
- Injuries and poisoning (10.6%)
- Mental disorders (8.9%)
- Cardiovascular/circulatory disorders (8.2%)
Arthritis is among the leading causes of adult onset disability, and women are twice as likely to suffer from arthritis as men.
Want a more customized look at your chances of becoming disabled? Visit www.whatsmypdq.org. For example, a 44-year-old non-smoking male, six feet tall, 240 pounds, working mostly in an office with a moderately healthy lifestyle has a 21 percent chance of being disabled for 3 months or longer.
But…If he does get a disability bad enough to lay him up for 3 months or longer, chances are significant that it will be a doozy: 40 percent of those injuries or illnesses will persist for 5 years or longer. The average length of a long-term disability for this individual is 85 months.
Visit the Council for Disability Awareness website, enter your own information, and find out how much is at risk. The answer is frequently in the millions of dollars, and could be in the tens of millions for young doctors with their prime earning years ahead of them.
That’s why I’m passionate about what I do. It’s simple. I sell disability insurance to doctors. Yes, if you are currently in good health, odds are you will have a long and prosperous and reasonably healthy career. That’s why you are insurable. But we both know that tomorrow is not promised. Disability can strike anyone. You’ll see it time and again in the course of your medical career. And that someone could be you. Financially speaking, is that a gamble you can afford to lose? Are your current benefits adequate to protect you?
Give me a call, or fill out our online questionnaire for a quick quote, and I’ll give you a call for a no-obligation consultation. Let’s get you protected.