Guardian Guaranteed Standard Issue disability insurance can give qualifying residents and fellows access to specialty-specific disability coverage without the normal medical underwriting process. In this episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast, Billy Gwaltney walks through the Guardian GSI quote email and explains the decisions physicians need to make before applying.
Billy covers starting benefit amounts, the Benefit Purchase Rider, 90-day versus 180-day elimination periods, COLA, level versus graded premiums, trainee discounts, specialty own-occupation definitions, partial disability benefits, recovery benefits, and the application process. He also explains why the opportunity is time-sensitive and why physicians who qualify should understand the program before applying elsewhere or leaving the training institution where the GSI offer is available. Pasted markdown
Key Topics
What Guardian Guaranteed Standard Issue disability insurance is
Why some residents and fellows qualify for GSI coverage without traditional medical underwriting
Why access to a Guardian GSI program can disappear
Available starting monthly benefit amounts for residents and fellows
How the Benefit Purchase Rider allows coverage to increase later
Choosing between 90-day and 180-day elimination periods
How COLA can help offset inflation during a long-term disability claim
Level premiums versus graded or increasing premiums
Guardian trainee discounts
True specialty own-occupation disability coverage
Enhanced residual or partial disability benefits
The long-term recovery benefit
Why GSI coverage is private and portable
The electronic application process
Why the broker relationship can matter throughout the life of the policy
Key Takeaways
Guardian GSI can allow qualifying residents and fellows to obtain specialty disability coverage without the traditional medical underwriting process.
Access depends on the physician’s training institution and can be lost if eligibility conditions change.
Residents may be able to start with as little as $2,500 per month, while fellows may have different minimums depending on the state.
The Benefit Purchase Rider can allow qualifying physicians to increase coverage later to as much as $15,000 per month without new medical screening.
A 90-day elimination period costs more than a 180-day period but begins paying benefits sooner.
COLA can increase benefits after a claim begins to help offset inflation during a long-term disability.
Level premiums remain fixed for the original amount of coverage, while graded premiums begin lower and increase over time.
The GSI policy includes Guardian’s trainee discounts, which Billy says can remain with future coverage increases.
True specialty own-occupation coverage is designed to pay when an illness or injury prevents a physician from performing the material duties of the insured specialty.
The policy also includes partial disability and long-term recovery provisions.
Guardian is not required to continue offering a GSI opportunity indefinitely.
The application process is electronic and generally takes the physician only a short amount of time to complete.
Residents and fellows comparing disability insurance quotes can quickly get buried in rates, riders, definitions, waiting periods, and carrier differences. In this episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast, Billy Gwaltney walks through the major parts of a discounted specialty disability insurance quote and explains what physicians should pay attention to when comparing their options.
Billy covers trainee discounts, benefit amounts, elimination periods, cost-of-living adjustments, true specialty own-occupation coverage, partial disability benefits, benefit increase riders, and the application process. He also explains why a lower premium does not necessarily mean two policies provide the same coverage and why physicians should understand the differences between private specialty coverage and employer group long-term disability insurance.
Key Topics
The four carriers Billy works with for specialty own-occupation coverage: MassMutual, Guardian, Principal, and Ameritas
Why residents and fellows generally have access to stronger discounts than attending physicians
How physicians can compare disability insurance quotes without focusing only on premium
Common starting monthly benefit amounts for residents and fellows
Choosing between 90-day and 180-day elimination periods
How the cost-of-living adjustment rider works
Level premiums compared with graded or increasing premiums
How a benefit increase rider can allow coverage to grow as physician income increases
Partial disability and long-term recovery benefits
Psychiatric benefit options and specialty-specific limitations
The differences between private specialty coverage and employer group LTD
What physicians can expect during the application and approval process
Why the broker relationship continues to matter after the policy is issued
Key Takeaways
Residents and fellows generally have access to the largest disability insurance discounts offered by the four specialty carriers Billy works with.
A common starting point for physicians in training is $5,000 per month in benefits, although available amounts can be lower or higher depending on the carrier and stage of training.
The benefit increase rider can allow physicians to increase coverage as their income rises without going through new medical underwriting, provided the rider’s requirements are maintained.
A 180-day elimination period generally costs less than a 90-day period because the physician assumes a longer period of financial risk before benefits begin.
COLA increases benefits after a disability claim begins to help offset inflation during a long-term claim.
Billy generally favors locking in level premiums earlier rather than relying on graded premiums that start lower and increase over time.
True specialty own-occupation coverage is designed to pay benefits when an illness or injury prevents a physician from performing the material duties of his or her specialty, even if the physician later earns income in another occupation.
Strong private policies can also include partial disability and recovery benefits rather than requiring a physician to be completely unable to work before receiving benefits.
Employer group long-term disability coverage may define disability differently from an individual specialty policy, even when the employer plan uses terms such as “own occupation.”
The application itself is largely electronic, with Billy estimating that the physician’s portion generally takes about 30 minutes, followed by approximately two to four weeks of carrier processing.
Medical history matters. Waiting until the end of a discount window can create problems if a new diagnosis, medication, injury, or other medical issue appears before the physician applies.
The broker relationship can matter throughout the life of the policy, especially when increasing benefits, reviewing coverage, or eventually filing a claim.
Understanding Your Discounted Specialty Disability Insurance Quote
Disability insurance can become complicated quickly.
A resident or fellow may receive several quotes with different premiums, benefit amounts, waiting periods, riders, and policy terminology. One option may appear significantly cheaper than another, while another may include a feature that sounds important but is difficult to understand.
The goal should not be to choose a policy simply because it has the lowest monthly premium.
The goal is to understand what you are buying, which differences actually matter, and whether the policy will protect your income if an illness or injury prevents you from practicing your specialty.
In this episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast, Billy Gwaltney walks through the major components of the discounted specialty disability coverage quotes he provides to residents and fellows.
Which Disability Insurance Carriers Offer Specialty Coverage for Physicians?
Billy works primarily with four carriers for private specialty own-occupation disability insurance:
MassMutual
Guardian
Principal
Ameritas
According to Billy, roughly 90 to 95 percent of the important contract terms are similar across the policies he recommends from these carriers.
That does not mean the policies are identical.
Premiums, riders, underwriting, available benefit amounts, psychiatric benefits, and other provisions can vary. Those differences should be considered when comparing quotes.
However, Billy cautions against assuming that a policy costing 30 percent more automatically gives you a 30 percent better chance of receiving benefits.
A higher premium may reflect a particular feature, benefit structure, carrier, or rider. That may be worthwhile for a particular physician, but the premium alone does not tell you whether one policy is better suited to your situation.
Why Residents and Fellows Receive Disability Insurance Discounts
Residents and fellows occupy an unusual position in the disability insurance market.
Their current income may still be relatively modest, but their future earning potential can be substantial.
Billy explains that the four carriers he works with generally provide their largest discounts to physicians while they are still in training. The enrollment process can also be easier for trainees than it is for physicians who have already become attendings.
Attending physicians may still qualify for discounts, but the availability and size of those discounts can be more difficult to predict.
This creates a potentially useful window for residents and fellows to establish private coverage before completing training.
How Much Disability Coverage Should a Resident or Fellow Start With?
Billy commonly uses $5,000 per month as the starting point when comparing quotes.
That does not mean every resident or fellow must purchase $5,000 of coverage.
Depending on the carrier and the physician’s training stage, the initial benefit could potentially be as low as $1,000 or $2,500 per month. Other physicians may qualify to begin with $7,500, $8,000, $8,500, or another amount.
The $5,000 figure simply makes it easier to compare carriers on a reasonably consistent basis.
The more important question is how the policy can grow after training.
The Benefit Increase Rider
Most residents will earn substantially more after becoming attendings.
A policy purchased during residency therefore needs a way to grow with that income.
That is the purpose of the benefit increase rider.
Billy explains that this rider can eventually allow eligible physicians to increase their private disability benefit to as much as $30,000 per month without going through another medical evaluation or answering new medical questions.
That can be particularly important if your health changes after purchasing the original policy.
The rider also allows the trainee discount to continue applying to future increases, although the premium for new coverage will reflect your age when that additional coverage is purchased.
There are requirements that must be followed to maintain the rider. Billy notes that physicians generally need to consider an increase at least every three years and accept a specified portion of additional coverage for which they qualify.
This is one reason staying in contact with the broker who services the policy matters.
90-Day vs. 180-Day Elimination Period
The elimination period is the amount of time you must remain disabled before policy benefits begin.
Two common options are:
90 days
180 days
A longer elimination period generally means a lower premium because you are agreeing to cover more of the initial financial risk yourself.
Billy explains that physicians who choose a 90-day elimination period can generally move to a 180-day period later.
Going in the other direction may not be available.
For that reason, many of his clients begin with the 90-day option while preserving the ability to extend it later if their financial circumstances change.
What Is the COLA Rider?
COLA stands for cost-of-living adjustment.
The COLA rider does not increase the policy merely because inflation occurs while you are healthy.
Instead, it becomes relevant once you are receiving disability benefits.
According to Billy, the policies he discusses can increase the disability benefit by up to 3 percent per year while a physician remains on claim, with increases compounding over time.
That can become important for a physician who becomes disabled relatively early in a career and remains on claim for many years.
Billy notes that many clients begin with COLA because it can be removed later if they decide they no longer want to pay for it.
Adding it after purchasing a policy without it may not be possible.
Level Rates vs. Graded Rates
Another choice physicians may encounter is the difference between a level premium and a graded or increasing premium.
With a level premium, the cost of the original coverage is generally based on your age when you purchase the policy and remains fixed.
Billy estimates that waiting another year to purchase comparable coverage can increase the premium by approximately 5 percent simply because of age, assuming other pricing and discounts remain unchanged.
Guardian also offers a graded premium option that begins at a lower price but increases over time.
This can make coverage more affordable for a physician in training who specifically wants Guardian but cannot yet comfortably afford the level premium.
Billy’s preference, however, is generally to secure a level rate while young when the budget allows.
What Does True Specialty Own-Occupation Mean?
One of the most important parts of a physician disability policy is the definition of disability itself.
Billy describes the policies he recommends as including a true specialty own-occupation definition.
Under this type of definition, if an illness or injury prevents you from performing the material duties of your medical specialty, the policy can pay your full benefit.
You can then potentially work in another role and earn income without reducing that disability benefit.
For example, a surgeon who can no longer operate may still be able to teach, consult, work in a clinic, write, or pursue another occupation.
The policy is concerned with whether the physician can continue performing the material duties of the specialty insured by the contract.
That distinction is one of the major reasons physicians should pay close attention to policy definitions rather than simply comparing monthly premiums.
Partial Disability Benefits
Disability does not always mean a physician suddenly becomes completely unable to work.
A physician may instead be able to continue working part time while losing a significant portion of income.
Billy explains that the policies he recommends include an enhanced partial or residual disability benefit designed for these situations.
Once the required income-loss threshold is reached, the policy can pay a proportional benefit based on the amount of income lost.
This means disability protection does not necessarily operate on an all-or-nothing basis.
The Long-Term Recovery Benefit
Returning to work does not always mean income immediately returns to its previous level.
A physician may medically recover enough to resume working but continue experiencing an income loss because a practice has shrunk, referrals have changed, patients have moved elsewhere, or productivity has not fully recovered.
The long-term recovery benefit is designed to continue providing support under qualifying circumstances even after the physician has medically recovered.
Billy considers this an important part of the private specialty coverage he recommends.
Psychiatric Disability Benefits
The quotes discussed in the episode generally include a two-year psychiatric disability benefit for conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Some physicians may have the option of extending that benefit to age 65 for an additional premium.
Availability can depend on specialty.
Billy specifically notes limitations for emergency medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, and many pain medicine physicians, although carrier-specific exceptions may exist.
This is an area where physicians should look closely at the actual quote and contract rather than assuming every carrier treats every specialty the same way.
Why Employer Group LTD Is Different
Many physicians already have long-term disability insurance through their employer.
That does not necessarily make private specialty coverage redundant.
Billy warns that employer group LTD policies can use very different disability definitions even when the plan uses language such as “own occupation.”
A private specialty policy may evaluate whether you can perform the duties of your particular specialty. An employer plan may use a broader definition of what it means to remain capable of working as a physician.
Billy says he has clients receiving benefits from their private specialty policies who did not receive benefits from their employer-sponsored plans.
His recommendation is therefore to avoid building your financial contingency plan around the assumption that an employer policy will necessarily provide the amount stated on the benefit summary.
The actual policy language matters.
What Happens When You Apply?
Once a physician chooses a carrier, the application process is largely electronic.
Billy describes the process as:
Complete an electronic intake form with basic personal information.
Electronically sign the carrier application.
Answer approximately 20 to 25 medical questions.
Allow the insurance company to complete underwriting and process the application.
Review the approved policy.
Sign the policy and pay the initial premium.
Billy estimates that the physician’s portion normally requires about 30 minutes.
Carrier processing generally takes approximately two to four weeks.
Once the policy is approved, accepted, and the initial premium is paid, the coverage becomes effective according to the policy terms.
Why Timing Matters
Residents and fellows sometimes wait until the end of training because trainee discounts may remain available for a limited period after graduation.
The risk is not simply that you may become a year older and pay a higher premium.
Disability insurance involves medical underwriting.
A new prescription, diagnosis, back injury, physical therapy treatment, or other change in medical history could affect underwriting.
That does not necessarily mean you become uninsurable. It can, however, complicate the process or affect the terms available to you.
For that reason, Billy generally recommends considering coverage while you are healthy rather than deliberately waiting until the end of the available discount period.
Your Broker Matters After You Buy the Policy
Buying disability insurance is not necessarily the end of the relationship with your broker.
Over the course of a physician’s career, income changes. Coverage may need to increase. Riders need to remain active. Questions arise about contract provisions.
Eventually, a physician may also need to file a claim.
Billy describes situations in which clients initially attempted to navigate claims themselves, encountered problems, and later contacted him for help.
That is why he encourages physicians to work with someone who specializes in this type of coverage and intends to remain involved throughout the life of the policy.
The Bottom Line
Comparing disability insurance quotes requires more than finding the lowest monthly premium.
Residents and fellows should understand the disability definition, benefit amount, elimination period, COLA option, partial disability provisions, recovery benefit, psychiatric coverage, benefit increase rider, and how the policy can grow as their income increases.
The trainee years can also provide access to discounts and underwriting opportunities that may be more difficult to obtain later.
The most important thing is to understand exactly what the policy will do if an illness or injury prevents you from practicing your specialty.
If you have questions about your quote or want to discuss your particular situation, Billy Gwaltney can be reached at 704-270-2376.
Do physicians need a broker to buy private disability insurance? According to Billy Gwaltney, the short answer is yes. The major specialty disability insurance carriers distribute their policies through brokers, so physicians who contact a carrier directly will generally be referred to a broker or representative.
But Billy argues that simply having a broker is not enough. Physicians should work with someone who specializes in physician disability insurance and can help with more than the initial application. A knowledgeable broker can help structure the policy correctly, make sure important definitions are included, assist with future policy changes, and provide support if a disability claim ever needs to be filed.
Key Topics
Whether physicians need a broker to purchase private disability insurance
Why specialty disability insurance carriers work through brokers
Can one disability insurance broker get you a better rate than another? When it comes to private specialty disability insurance, Billy Gwaltney explains that the underlying rate is not something a broker can simply negotiate.
In this FAQ, Billy explains why physicians comparing disability insurance quotes should look beyond the monthly premium. If one quote appears significantly cheaper, the difference may come from a lower benefit amount, missing policy features, or weaker definitions rather than a special discount that another broker somehow found.
Key Topics
Why specialty disability insurance rates are not negotiated like other purchases
How insurance carrier pricing works
Why two seemingly similar disability insurance quotes may have different premiums
The importance of comparing benefit amounts and policy definitions
Why a cheaper disability insurance quote may provide less coverage
Why physicians should compare policies carefully before choosing based on price alone
Key Takeaways
Private specialty disability insurance rates are established by the insurance carrier rather than individually negotiated by the broker.
A lower premium does not necessarily mean someone found a better price for the same policy.
Differences in benefit amounts, riders, or policy definitions can make one quote less expensive than another.
Physicians should compare disability insurance quotes on an apples-to-apples basis before making a decision.
Important contract language should not be removed simply to lower the premium.
Working with a specialist can help physicians identify differences that may not be obvious from the quoted monthly rate.
As a physician’s income grows, disability insurance coverage may need to grow with it. The Benefit Increase Rider is designed to make that possible.
In this FAQ, disability insurance specialist Billy Gwaltney explains how a Benefit Increase Rider can allow physicians to increase their disability insurance coverage later in their careers as their income rises. When structured properly, those increases can be made without going through additional medical screening, while preserving the trainee discounts secured when the original policy was purchased.
Key Topics
What the Benefit Increase Rider is
Why physicians may need more disability coverage as their income increases
How the rider can allow coverage to grow later in a physician’s career
Increasing coverage without additional medical screening
Keeping trainee discounts on future coverage increases
Why the Benefit Increase Rider is an important feature to consider when buying a disability policy
Key Takeaways
The Benefit Increase Rider allows eligible physicians to increase disability coverage as their income grows.
When properly structured, future increases may not require additional medical screening.
Trainee discounts secured when the original policy is purchased can carry over to future increases.
The rider can be especially important for residents and fellows whose income is expected to rise substantially after training.
Physicians should understand how their Benefit Increase Rider works before they need to increase their coverage.
In this episode, Billy Gwaltney breaks down the essential details physicians and medical trainees should understand about securing disability insurance discounts, including grace periods, medical considerations, and tips for locking in rates early.
Key topics
The importance of securing disability insurance coverage before or shortly after graduation
The four top-tier carriers offering trainee discounts: Mass Mutual, Guardian, Principal, and Ameritas
Grace periods: 90 days for Mass Mutual and Guardian; 180 days for Principal and Ameritas
How health and moving during the grace period can impact your rates
Strategies for starting coverage at lower amounts and scaling later
Why it’s crucial to act promptly to secure discounts and maintain favorable rates
Additional resources and ways to connect for personalized advice
Key Takeaways
Residents and fellows may still qualify for trainee disability insurance discounts after graduation, but the window depends on the carrier.
MassMutual and Guardian currently offer a 90-day grace period after training ends.
Principal and Ameritas currently offer a 180-day grace period after training ends.
Waiting too long can create risk if health changes, new prescriptions appear, or medical screening becomes more complicated.
Moving to a different state may affect disability insurance rates and should be considered before delaying coverage.
Once a trainee discount is secured, it can typically be kept long term.
Physicians may be able to start with a lower coverage amount and increase coverage later using a benefit increase rider.
Transcript
(00:01.848)
Welcome to the Cover Your Assets podcast, a show for the physician who understands the importance of protecting everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. If you’re ready to find the peace of mind that only financial security can bring, let’s get started. Here’s your host, Billy Gwaltney.
Hi there, welcome to today’s episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m your host, Billy Gwaltney, and it’s good to be with you as it always is. In this episode, we’re going to cover trainee discounts. I work with physicians nationwide, helping them secure their private specialty disability coverage. And a common question for residents and fellows is, hey, is there a grace period for getting the discount? A lot of planning and transition and
moving across the country and other things are going on as people approach graduation. Sometimes they’re hoping to take care of this sooner than later. Other times they’re wanting to wait as long as they can. So it’s a very valid question. There are four top tier specialty carriers, Mass Mutual, Guardian, Principal, and Ameritas. They’re all four excellent. They all four offer trainee discounts. They vary in the grace period that they will give you in terms of how long after
graduation, post graduation, you can still access the trainee discount. Mass Mutual and Guardian are currently 90 days from the date that you finished training, your last day of training. So if you finished June 30th, you have until September 30th to get the trainee discount. If you apply in October, you don’t get the trainee discount. So that’s just how that works. Principal and Ameritas have a
180 day or six month grace period. So again, same example, you graduate June 30th, you have until December 30th or 31st to get the trainee discount. Now, of course, if you’re going through medical screening, you know, you’re kind of rolling the dice as far as being healthy ish, you don’t start any new prescriptions, you don’t have any health conditions that pop up, anything new on your chart that could make the medical screening more muddy.
(02:13.482)
Also, if you’re moving, then the state you live in when you buy the insurance can change the rates. You want to check the details of that. I’ve got other podcasts that I’ve covered in that on that topic. And also, you know, it just depends on whether or not you’re disabled, I mean, or whether or not you’re at work. Those are some of the questions that are required. You know, they don’t seem like they’re all that big of a deal, but.
They can be, if you back yourself into a corner, waiting as long as possible. So once you get the discount, you keep the discount forever. That’s the key. So it is important to try to get the discount if you can. You don’t have to buy the maximum amount of coverage up front. Depending on the carrier, you can start at $2,500. You can start at as low as $1,000. mean, some carriers will let you go lower.
as a trainee so that you can check the box, get the discount, take care of the coverage and making sure it’s in place and then use the benefit increase rider to scale coverage higher later once you’re an attending based on your attending income. So there are lot of ways to secure the coverage and get what you need and your family’s counting on you having if you can’t do your specialty and put that in place without waiting until the last minute.
and trying to squeeze in the door under the deadline. But happy to discuss your situation in more detail if it would help. Love answering questions. Message me here 704-270-2376. Again, 704-270-2376. Thank you. Look forward to hopefully speaking with you.
(04:07.478)
Subscribe, rate and review this podcast. For more tips and advice, visit the website and YouTube channel. Check the show notes for links. Join us next time for another episode dedicated to helping physicians like you get your disability insurance right and protect your way of life.
(04:27.694)
If you have more questions, please feel free to visit my website. You can also find me on LinkedIn and all major social media platforms. If you need to call my number again, in case you missed it during the episode, is 704-270-2376. Again.
That’s 704-270-2376. My name is Billy Gwaltney and I hope you have a great day. Thank you.
In this episode of Cover Your Assets, disability insurance specialist Billy Gwaltney addresses whether physicians should prioritize paying down debt or increasing private disability coverage. He emphasizes the importance of having adequate insurance before debt repayment, especially for physicians facing high student loans and career uncertainties.
Key topics
Importance of disability insurance for physicians
Risks of relying on employer policies
Timing of insurance purchase relative to debt payoff
Balancing debt repayment with insurance coverage
Key Takeaways
Physicians often face a real tension between paying down debt and increasing disability coverage.
Billy recommends having adequate disability insurance in place before aggressively paying off debt.
A physician’s ability to work in their specialty is their most important financial asset.
Employer disability policies may not provide the same claim protection as private specialty coverage.
Waiting to increase coverage can be risky because illness or injury may make it too late to qualify.
Strong disability coverage can help protect income, debt repayment plans, family needs, and long-term financial goals.
Transcript
(00:01.836)
Welcome to the Cover Your Assets podcast, a show for the physician who understands the importance of protecting everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. If you’re ready to find the peace of mind that only financial security can bring, let’s get started. Here’s your host, Billy Gwaltney.
(00:20.034)
Hi there. Welcome to this episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m Billy Gwaltney, your host. It’s great to be with you. Today’s episode, I’m going to answer the question, should I pay down debt or increase my private disability coverage? I’ve gotten this question a number of times, sometimes from people in training, other times when they’re thinking about buying insurance at all, other times
from new attendings who really want to pay down a lot of debt as soon as possible because they’re finally making an attending income and they really would like to put off increasing their disability coverage. And I totally get that. It makes sense to me. I would be tempted to do that as well. Put everything else off and throw every nickel I can towards the debt.
Obviously getting rid of the medical school debt, is massive. It’s one reason I love working with physicians. I admire what you ladies and gentlemen have to go through to get where you are. And then for the privilege, when you come out of training and start making a decent living, hopefully to then have to pay down a lot of debt that got you there. So I understand that.
I do have some words of caution and that is whether you’re thinking about it as a trainee or an attending, not getting insurance, the issues with that, either not buying it or not having enough, is that if the bad day shows up, your plan B has to be in place prior to that day occurring. You can’t fix your plan B once plan A is not working.
So plan A is to have a long productive career, pay down the debt and save money and never need insurance. But plan B needs to be the best insurance on the planet so that if you did become disabled, you can still pay down the debt and you can still live in the house you live in and hopefully your children can go to the school you want them to go to and your dreams don’t all disintegrate in front of you. And if you don’t have insurance, those dreams are likely going to disintegrate.
(02:41.676)
relying on an employer policy. Some new attendings think that, I’m going to work at this employer where they say they’re going to pay me 15 or 20,000 a month in my group disability. Good luck collecting on that. Our clients on claim, over half of them never see a nickel from their employer policy just because the definitions are so bad. Even if they call it own occupation, they define that very differently than how this private specialty coverage defines it.
I’ve got plenty of podcasts and happy to discuss in as much detail about the difference in the definitions and private coverage versus group or employer coverage. It’s like night and day in terms of actually what happens at claim time. But staying to the point about should you increase versus paying down debt? I would say that to the extent you want to have insurance in place,
to be able to maintain your way of life and hopefully also pay down debt, whether it’s through a student loan repayment rider or whether it’s through just having enough disability coverage to still pay down the debt and save for retirement and so forth, then yes, you need to buy it and not put it off. Because if you put it off and the illness or injury shows up and you can’t do your specialty, then you’re toast if you don’t have enough insurance.
The category that this falls into, if you’re not careful, is the same penny wise and dollar not so wise, where we can get so focused on maximizing every nickel and dime towards the debt that we shortchange smart and prudent financial decisions that we need to make. And your number one asset as a physician is your specialty, your ability to do your job and do it well and make a good living doing that.
And that’s going to produce a paycheck every two weeks or once a month or however frequently you get paid. And that’s a nice paycheck that your family’s counting on. So ensure that Warren Buffett insures his most important assets. Insurance makes sense. Whether you’re a billionaire or not a billionaire. Insurance is just smart business when it comes to your most important assets. So bottom line, yes, I would, I want to go on record recommending that you
(04:58.794)
increase your disability coverage or buy disability coverage and not put it off until you’re debt free. It’s a risky approach. Obviously if it works, more power to you. But if you’re Plan A, it doesn’t take much for an illness to hurt back or herniated disc and you can’t do your job and then it’s too late to add to it at that point. So factor that in. I certainly understand the
kind of the angst behind making that decision. makes sense. So consider this as food for thought. I would love to discuss your situation in more detail. Message me here. Text me 704-270-2376. Once again, 704-270-2376. Thank you as always. See you next time. Thanks for listening to the Cover Your Assets podcast, an Odd Conduit Media production.
New episodes drop every two weeks. If you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. For more tips and advice, visit the website and YouTube channel. Check the show notes for links. Join us next time for another episode dedicated to helping physicians like you get your disability insurance right and protect your way of life.
In this episode of Cover Your Assets, host Billy Gwaltney discusses the critical importance of choosing the right disability insurance broker to avoid becoming an ‘orphaned’ policyholder. He emphasizes the risks of working with inexperienced agents and shares insights on how to ensure ongoing support and claims assistance.
Key topics
The concept of orphaned policyholders and its risks
The importance of working with experienced insurance brokers
How to ensure ongoing support and claims assistance
The impact of broker turnover on policyholders
Takeaways
Always work with a dedicated, experienced insurance broker.
Beware of brokers who may leave the industry and stop supporting you.
Your broker’s ongoing involvement is crucial during claims.
Buyer beware: the broker’s role is vital in policy management
Transcript (full length ep)
(00:01.836)
Welcome to the Cover Your Assets podcast, a show for the physician who understands the importance of protecting everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. If you’re ready to find the peace of mind that only financial security can bring, let’s get started. Here’s your host, Billy Gwaltney.
Hi there, welcome to today’s episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m your host, Billy Gwaltney, and it’s good to be with you. Today’s topic, I want to cover how to avoid becoming an orphaned disability policyholder. I work with physicians nationwide, helping them secure their private specialty disability coverage. And in the insurance world, which I’ve been in for over 30 years, since I was
I still in college, it was when I started. They refer to policyholders who no longer have a broker or agent assigned to them as orphaned policyholders. And that’s a powerful term. To be orphaned means to have lost your parents. Whoever’s in charge are supposed to be guiding you or shepherding you or caring for you, looking after you.
accessible to you and so forth is not there. any, you know, regardless of the reason, you’re on your own. And that’s a scary thought. When you buy disability insurance, the same thing is true with life insurance, and I help most clients with life insurance, but all of our clients, help with disability insurance. So I’m specifically referring to regarding disability.
There has to be an agent or a broker. So if you call an insurance company directly, one of the top four carriers, Mass Mutual, Guardian, Principal, or Ameritas, they’re going to send you to me or to a broker or agent to quote help you. What most people don’t understand is that the insurance world is a commission-based world where you eat what you kill. That means that the attrition rate is really high.
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is probably, last I’ve heard is upwards of 95 % of people that start out in the insurance business are no longer in it within three years or five years. So if you’re buying disability insurance and you are talking to someone who has been doing this for five years or less or even 10 years or less, there is a very high probability that in the next 10 years they won’t be doing
They’ll be doing something else. They’ll go work for the bank. They’re going to have to figure out how to pay some bills. And it’s just a difficult way to get started and to hang on long enough to have the persistence and stamina to be able to build it up. And so then you throw in the reality that the disability insurance world is quirky.
even financial advisors and the insurance agents that I know would rather do anything but disability insurance, most of them. So the people you’re talking to is a small number. There are not many specialists that do this at the level we do it. I’ve been doing this a long time. And so you go, well, why does that matter? Well, when you buy your policy, the broker gets paid a small percentage of the premium you’re paying for the life of the policy, whether they
whether they continue to help you or not. Okay, that’s baked in. There’s no cheaper rate if you go direct. Like I said, there has to be a broker. Well, the premium you’re paying, a small portion of that goes to me or whoever your broker is. Okay, the point behind that being a little bit over an extended period is to incentivize me or whoever your agent or broker is to keep you happy, to take care of you. So there’s a financial incentive for them to do that, which is good. But if they are no longer in the business,
there’s a good chance they still get the check, but they’re not helping you. Okay. So it’s the worst of the worst for you. It is truly buyer beware. The other thing is that when you need help increasing coverage, and most importantly, when you need help at the time of claim, if you ever need to tap into this, you can deal directly with the insurance carrier for sure. For HIPAA reasons, they’re going to send you things and communicate directly. But that’s a
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you that’s a department, that’s an 800 number like any other massive company. Your broker can be as involved as you want him or her to be. And that’s where this really matters. Advocating for you, someone who has experience doing this, making sure that you’re not getting taken to the, you know, the nightmares, you get your file and it gets taken, it gets put over here to the side and then it gets to the bottom of the pile. Who is helping moving your file up to the top of the pile? That’s what I do.
That’s what we do. We’re really good at that. We have a really good relationship with these carriers. We know the claims people. We have clients on claim. They all get paid. We’ve never had a client as of now that’s needed to hire an attorney, go to arbitration, do any kind of legal proceeding in order to get their check. If your doctor says you can’t do your specialty, you’re supposed to get paid. Well, the communication part can get muddy because it’s a very tense time for people when they’re disabled.
It is a very traumatic thing. I’ve had two separate clients that tried to navigate it on their own. I didn’t even know they were disabled. just, I don’t know why they didn’t call me. Maybe, I don’t know why. I’ve tried to figure that out, but I interviewed a client who’s on a podcast because he was one of them and he just didn’t think about it. Anyway, they went, kind of ran down the mountain on their own. They didn’t really know what they were doing.
They didn’t know who their friend was or who they should share what with and both of them got denied. Their claims got denied. They both reached out to me kind of in a panic. These are two separate, but they don’t know each other, two separate occasions. They got me involved as kind of a last minute ditch effort and I was able to get them both approved. And it wasn’t that they weren’t disabled. It was just that they is like ships passing in the night. The information it just.
There was just a breakdown. And so I interviewed, there’s a claims story on my podcast page with a client who went public with it, was able, was really happy that we got him paid. And the client or the broker is the one that can help move the needle. If something needs to be clarified, it’s going to be the broker that clears that up. So I just share that.
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If you buy your disability insurance or your life insurance from someone who is in the 90 % that isn’t going to be doing it in a while, then you really are kind of left out on your own while they continue to get paid. That’s the hard part. So buyer beware, the broker really, really matters. And you don’t want to be an orphan policy holder.
None of my clients are Lord willing, they never will be. I have a team in place, have a succession plan in place, I have experts that I work with, I’m connected to other experts. We’re kind of a tight knit community, so there aren’t many that do it at this level. So you wanna make sure that you’re working with a specialist. Message me here if you’d like to discuss further, happy to do that. 704-270-2376. Again, 704-270-2376, happy to chat with you.
Thanks for listening to the Cover Your Assets podcast, an odd conduit media production. New episodes drop every two weeks. If you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. For more tips and advice, visit the website and YouTube channel. Check the show notes for links. Join us next time for another episode dedicated to helping physicians like you get your disability insurance right and protect your way of life.
In this of Cover Your Assets episode, host Billy Gwaltney clarifies how disability insurance rates are determined, why they vary between brokers, and how to ensure you’re getting the best coverage without overpaying. Physician listeners will learn what to look for in policies and how to compare offers effectively.
Takeaways
Insurance rates are fixed and do not vary between brokers for the same coverage.
Always compare apples to apples; differences in coverage or riders cause rate variations.
Beware of fluff riders and unnecessary add-ons that inflate premiums.
The devil is in the details: coverage definitions and benefits matter most.
For more tips and advice, connect with the CYA Podcast on YouTube and visit the Professional Planning Group online. Stay up to date with Billy on Facebook and LinkedIn.
In this episode of Cover Your Assets, host Billy Gwaltney addresses whether residents and fellows should wait until graduation to purchase guaranteed standard issue disability insurance. He covers the benefits, timing, and strategic considerations for securing disability coverage during training using his expertise in disability insurance.
Key topics:
Eligibility and timing for guaranteed standard issue disability insurance
The importance of securing disability insurance during training
How insurance carriers manage growth and risk with GSI
Strategies for affordable coverage as a resident or fellow
Long-term benefits of early disability insurance purchase
Transcript:
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Welcome to the Cover Your Assets podcast, a show for the physician who understands the importance of protecting everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. If you’re ready to find the peace of mind that only financial security can bring, let’s get started. Here’s your host, Billy Gwaltney.
Welcome to today’s episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m your host, Billy Gwaltney, and it is good to be with you as always. Today’s topic is covering a question that I was asked recently by a resident, which is, is it OK to wait until I get to graduation before I buy guaranteed standard issue disability insurance? And that’s a good question. It’s a valid question.
And I went over the answer and I think they were slightly surprised because some of the answers are not necessarily intuitive. And so I give them credit for wanting to know. The answer is technically you are eligible for the GSI, guaranteed standard issue, which is the best disability insurance on the planet, best contracts where the insurance carrier completely waives the medical screening component of it.
And this is eligible for you if you are a resident or fellow at the facility where they are allowing it to be purchased as long as they allow the program to exist. What’s important to know is that insurance carriers are not required by law or statute or any other reason to offer guaranteed standard issue. The only reason they do it is to incentivize growth over a period of time. And there will be a time when they will shut it down.
not shut down the access to their disability insurance, but shut down the no medical screening component of it. There are actuaries at insurance carriers that are essentially nervous all the time. And they are going to reach a point where they’re just too concerned about adverse selection, which means when there’s no medical screening, the people that know that they have medical history
Patrick Childers (02:11.544)
a lot of times the most significant medical history. Those are the ones that are first in line typically as soon as they find out about it. And that scares insurance companies. can bankrupt insurance companies if they had to pay out too many claims. Now these carriers have been around for close to 200 years, so they know what they’re doing. And so they’re gonna spur the growth. They waive the medical screening. They allow you to have access. And it’s there until they decide not to allow it. Technically,
They don’t have to announce it. They could stop today. There’s no, they generally would give an off ramp of maybe 30 days or to the end of the month, or sometimes they’ll announce it, hey, this is the last resident graduating season, we’re gonna do this. But generally, they’re shorter on the announcement because they’ll just make a decision that says we have enough growth and we’re gonna kind of turn back.
the spicket, the water spicket, so that the water doesn’t come out as fast, so that we’re not growing as fast, because their actuaries actually get nervous about that. So it’s not necessarily intuitive. People tend to think insurance carriers are greedy. They want your money. They’ll always take your business. They do want to grow, but they want smart growth. And so there are actually times when they don’t want your money. They don’t want your business, unless you go through their medical screening, which is where you sign a HIPAA and they ask 30
you know, 25 or 30 medical questions, they do a script check and they reserve the right to decline you or rate you or exclude pre-existing conditions. So yes, technically you can wait. Is it wise to wait? That’s an entirely different discussion. And I know that residents and fellows, clients we work with, the budgets are really tight typically. And so they’re just looking to kick the can down the road if they can. And I would too.
And so that’s why I think that’s a valid question to at least understand. The other thing to understand is that the insurance carrier may not require you to buy 5,000 or 7,500 or 8,000 or whatever of initial benefit. Maybe you could start lower. One carrier we work with will let you go down to $1,000 a month. Another one will let you go down to 2,500 a month if you’re a resident and 4,000 a month if you are a fellow.
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So you could start off lower and one carrier offers a graded or increasing premium that starts off cheaper and gets more expensive. Now you ultimately overpay for that, but that would allow you to on a tight budget get the coverage without having to wait. The key to understand is that once you get the insurance, they can never take it away from you. Okay, so if you buy the insurance on Monday and you pay the premium for that,
and the insurance carrier says on Tuesday we’re no longer offering this to anyone, you’re in. You’re in forever. It’s non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable. They can never take it away from you. They can never cancel the policy. They can never change the rate or the definitions. So the key is just getting it. Find out what that entry point is that your budget can handle and check the box.
because then you can, number one, you have coverage in case something happens in the meantime while you’re still in training. We have had clients get disabled in training. So it’s, you know, there’s no suspension of the risk of life until you become an attending, as if being disabled in training is impossible. And I think obviously, you know that, but so you have the coverage, but also you have the ability to flip the switch and increase up to 15,000. Once you become an attending with the same definitions, the same discount.
no medical questions, and so you’re securing your future. Your most important asset will always be, as a physician, your ability to earn a significant income over your career. Ensuring that is just smart business. It’s the key. It’s the foundational piece to any financial plan, making sure that your private specialty disability coverage is in place. Your employer group long-term disability policy is much more difficult to ever collect.
it would be unwise to assume that you’re going to get anything from that. You want to base your plan on can your bills and your dreams and your retirement be funded with your private specialty disability coverage benefit. Technically you can wait, there’s no law that requires you to buy it now, but it is buyer beware. It will also cost more if you’re older when you buy it. If you’re disabled then you no longer can get it.
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If you apply elsewhere, you’re forever removed from eligibility for the GSI. And if you miss any work, one carrier has a six month, if you miss any work in the six months leading up to the application, they reserve the right to remove your eligibility. Now, if you miss a sick day or take a long weekend, that’s okay probably. But if you are out on maternity leave, if you’re out for surgery, if you take an extended vacation, those can be deal killers for the GSI.
So get it while it’s there, put it to bed, and then move on down the road. That’s the wisest approach that I can advise someone to take. I’d be happy to discuss your situation in more detail. Every situation is unique. So message me here if you’d like to discuss further 704-270-2376. Again, 704-270-2376. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.
Take care, see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Cover Your Assets podcast, an odd conduit media production. New episodes drop every two weeks. If you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. For more tips and advice, visit the website and YouTube channel. Check the show notes for links. Join us next time for another episode dedicated to helping physicians like you get your disability insurance right and protect your way of life.
