Whether from an illness or accident, many of us will have some kind of partial disability. It is estimated that over half of all bankruptcy claims each year are the end result of an illness or disability which impacted the person's ability to work. Which is why getting the right disability insurance quotes are essential.



Physicians in private practice need to have disability insurance to prevent their practices from shutting down because of a temporary disability that keeps you from working. The benefit to having this type of insurance is that it will pay to help keep your practice going while you are disabled. This means that even though you may not be able to perform root canals, knee surgery or other medical treatments a doctor may provide, your business will have the money it needs to pay your staff, rent, utilities, property taxes, premiums and more.

It's essential to choose a company that provides custom solutions to your specific needs. Your prospective insurer should review your medical history, type of practice, practice location, gender, height, weight, age and list of current medications that you are taking.

Unfortunately, disabilities and illnesses often hit when we least expect them. For instance, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, degenerative disc disease, Lou Gehrig's disease are just a few of the illnesses that have stricken medical professionals who are in their prime earning years. Accidents, such as vehicle wrecks, athletic injuries from skiing, playing tennis or jogging and regular household mishaps can bring your practice's income to a screeching halt for weeks or even months.

Many plans usually have a benefit period of a few years, at the most. They are designed to help fund your practice until you are able to return to work or arrange to liquidate or shut down your practice.

Doctors should never assume that their existing policies cover the operating costs of running their businesses in the event of their inability to work. Policies such as long-term disability insurance often delay payment from the date of the injury or illness diagnosis. This can be anywhere from 60 to 365 days. In addition to this, it may only pay you if you are unable to work in any field. That's why it's important to look at your current plan and determine which option would be best for your situation.

Group plans are another area that doctors have to be careful with; since they can be cancelled at any time and their terms are quite limited. In addition, they usually do not pay unless you are totally disabled and unable to do any kind of work. Plus, they usually do not apply to business owners, like dentists or doctors. They are usually designed for employees, such as your employees.

Another important issue that's often overlooked is what kind of benefit Social Security will pay. Again, like long-term insurance, the SSDI only pays if you are unable to do any work. Since most disabilities are not 100%, this would not help a surgeon who has a fractured arm from a car accident and won't be able to practice for several weeks or months.

Worker's Compensation is another example that all doctors should know about. Unless you incur an injury in the course of your work, you cannot claim worker's compensation. That's why it's usually limited to those who work in construction or other occupations where serious injuries are far more likely.

Another misconception is that most think they may have enough cash saved up to cover the bills in the event of some kind of disability. This is a very risky proposition because it does not take into account the kind of debilitation and how long you might be out of work.

Make sure that your insurer is reliable, respected and has solid experience in working with medical professionals in private practice. Hopefully, you'll never need to use it but getting disability insurance quotes will make your debilitation much less painful when you are away from your practice.