Author Archives: Billy Gwaltney

We are often asked “What is a residual benefit and what makes it important?” Being residually disabled is often defined as having a loss of earnings because of an illness or injury, yet still working in your job because you’re not totally disabled.

In a disability policy, a residual benefit rider is designed to provide supplemental income to a partially disabled person who is still working. It pays if you are residually (or partially) disabled, unable to work at full capacity and suffer a loss of income of 15 to 20 percent or greater. Structured properly, it can pay benefits for the full policy period ,usually to age 65 or 67.

It’s important to know that with many association policies, a residual benefit rider can require a period of total disability before the partial disability. In such policies, if a total disability does not occur first, policy benefits would not be paid. Because a large percentage of disability insurance claims can either start or end in a residual claim, a solid Residual Benefit Rider is an integral part of specialty occupation disability coverage.

To be sure your specialty coverage contains the long term residual benefit rider, please give us a call or text us at (704) 707-5788.

A common question we’re asked is, “Once my specialty disability policy is issued, can the insurance company ever cancel my policy or raise my rates?”

With the top-tier disability insurance companies we broker, policies cannot be cancelled and premiums cannot be increased by the company. This is commonly referred to as a non-cancelable policy and is typically the most desirable long-term approach. Another type of policy is called guaranteed renewable, which means the insurance company cannot cancel the policy, however they do have the right to raise the premium for an entire occupation classification in the future.

It’s important to know that with many association and group disability policies, the insurance company can actually cancel the policy at any time in the future. Furthermore, they could also raise the premium and/or remove discounts at any time as well. It’s wise to confirm your policy is non-cancelable or at least guaranteed renewable. If it isn’t, it might be worth exploring a better option.

To be sure your specialty coverage is what is needs to be, please give us a call or text us at (704) 707-5788.

A question we’re commonly asked is, “What happens to my coverage if I decide to work outside the United States?”

With the top-tier disability insurance companies we broker, benefits would typically be paid if someone is disabled while working overseas. However there’s usually a 12 or 24 month limitation on how long benefits would be paid if you remain overseas. In order to continue receiving benefits beyond 12 or 24 months, you’d be required to move back to the United States to live.

The exception to this coverage while overseas is if the policyholder is not a United States. citizen, in which case the insurance company may exclude paying any benefits at all to the policyholder while not living in the United States. In most of these cases, the policyholder would be able to receive benefits if they moved back to the United States to live. However there can be additional travel exclusions as well.

Please know these are general rules. It’s important to confirm in your policy how international work and travel would be treated. To be sure these details are what you expect and need them to be, please give us a call or text us at (704) 707-5788.

A question we’re commonly asked is, “What is the ‘own occupation’ or ‘specialty occupation’ definition of disability? This is an excellent question and it’s at the heart of quality disability coverage.

The true own occupation definition means that you’re considered totally disabled if, due to illness or injury, you’re unable to perform the material and substantial duties of your occupation, regardless of any income you later earn in a different occupation. If you’re a physician or dentist, your occupation can mean a specific, professionally recognized specialty or subspecialty. Because of slick marketing from insurance companies with inferior policies, as well as misinformed benefits staff, there’s a lot of misinformation in the marketplace regarding this definition.

Many physicians and professionals think they have the true own occupation definition but they don’t. Most group and association policies will penalize you for earning other income and/or impose a limit on how long the own occupation period lasts. Most disability policies don’t contain the true own occupation definition. There are only a handful of top-tier companies that provide it. This is an important definition to have.

To be sure you obtain this true own occupation definition, feel free to give us a call or text us at (704) 707-5788.

Billy Gwaltney’s focus is providing specialty occupation disability insurance protection for physicians. His firm serves hundreds of clients from coast to coast, and he’s been in the insurance business since 1991.

Here’s what one client said about Billy: “I met Billy over 6 years ago when I was finishing my OBGYN residency. He took the time to explain disability insurance without making me feel pressured to purchase. His honesty, availability, and genuine concern for my financial security has ensured my customer loyalty. I have recommended him to many of my friends.”

An orthopedic surgeon client said: “Billy, I feel amazingly comfortable working with you. All we want is to make sure that should we need to use the coverage, someone like you will hold our hand through the process. Over the years you’ve worked with me, I have come to know that I have NO DOUBT that you will be that kind of friend. Thank you.”

If you would like Billy to help you get your specialty disability protection exactly right, feel free to call or text him at 704-707-5788.

A question we’re commonly asked is how much life insurance should I have? There are three primary approaches to calculate how much life insurance to buy.

The first approach is mirroring your colleagues/friends. Ask around to find out how much others have and buy a similar amount. This is the easiest approach but often results in too little coverage.

The second approach is buying a multiple of income. Insurance companies will offer up to 25 times someone’s annual income in life insurance. But this approach still works off of an estimation and not specific calculations.

The third approach is calculating how much income you want to provide for your family, how long you want the income to last, factor in inflation, taxes and investment return, add in any extra expenses you need to cover (like children’s college education), bring this to a present value, and then subtract out any assets.The remaining gap is how much life insurance is advisable. This obviously is the most detailed calculation by providing the most accurate amount based on your situation.

If you would like to explore the best approach for your life insurance, feel free to give us a call or text us at (704) 707-5788.

You might be thinking, “Should I buy specialty disability coverage while I’m still in residency or fellowship training?”

Simply put – YES.

First, you need to get it while you’re healthy—Medical underwriting approval is typically required due to the comprehensiveness of specialty disability coverage. This approval is not guaranteed in the future.Second, it’s usually less expensive —The discounts we’ve obtained for residents and fellows are substantial and remain after you graduate. Many of these discounts are not available after graduation. Third, you can qualify for a Future Insurability Option—This allows you to increase your coverage by 2 to 4 times later in life without any further medical underwriting.If structured properly, these future amounts also qualify for the discounts. Your most important asset is your ability to get up every day and earn a good income. Correctly insuring this asset is just smart business!

I can help you tailor a plan for a tight budget. Give us a call or text us at (704) 918-1174.

We’re often asked, “How much disability insurance am I eligible for?”

Typically the maximum benefit someone can be covered for is 65 to 70% of adjusted gross income However, how much you actually receive can be much less. Why? Because most group disability benefits through an employer are taxable income, while individual policy benefits are not taxable income.

For example, Dr. Pepper becomes disabled and receives $10000/month from her group long-term disability policy. But because this is taxable income, she’s only able to use $6500 of this amount for living expenses. However, Dr. Pepper also has a supplemental specialty disability policy that pays her a benefit of$10000/month. Because this benefit is not taxable, she’s able to have the entire $10000 for living expenses. Her total combined benefit is $16,500/month.

The more individual coverage someone has, the higher their net spendable income can be while on claim. To make sure your percentages are correct call or text us at 704-707-5788

You might be wondering if a group long term disability provided by your employer is enough to cover you if you become disabled.

Most employer provided policies cover a percentage of income up to a maximum cap, to normal retirement age. While this sounds good, an important factor is that group policies usually cover all employees regardless of their health. This creates significant gaps.

First, to reduce costs, group policy benefits are typically reduced by any social security or workers compensation payments, or other sources of income. Also group policies almost always have significantly weaker definitions and terms. This means if you’re disabled, you might not actually receive the benefits you’re expecting and need. Also your employers can change or even eliminate the group policy without consulting you.

Individual disability insurance can fill in these gaps by having better definitions and guaranteed coverage. Bottom line, people who rely on employer provided coverage are not in control.

If you’d like to be in control financially if disabled, please give us a call or text us at 704-707-5788

You might be surprised to learn that your most important asset is not your retirement account or real estate…it’s your ability to get out of bed every day, go to work and earn a good income.

You and your family’s way of life depend on this asset. So if something happens to derail its performance, it is vital to be sure this asset is properly insured.

According to the Council for Disability Awareness, over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year olds will become disabled before they retire. This is why adequate disability insurance protection is one of the cornerstones of a wisely built financial plan. Without it your whole financial house can quickly crumble.

Some employers provide group long-term disability coverage, although these policies can have significant limitations. If structured properly, individual coverage can provide much more comprehensive terms and definitions, in addition to non taxable benefits, level premiums and guaranteed coverage.

Having this in place can protect your financial house and dreams when the winds of change blow your way.
If you’d like to explore the best individual coverage options for you, please give us a call or text us at 704-707-5788.