Dan Bannin, Author at Professional Planning Group

What are the eligibility rules for the Ameritas GSI for residents and fellows?

Posted on May 20, 2026 - 11:50 pm by Dan Bannin

On this episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast, Billy Gwaltney dives into a crucial topic for medical professionals: the eligibility rules for Ameritas GSI, or Guaranteed Standard Issue, disability insurance for residents and fellows. If you’re a physician in training, knowing the nuances of this insurance can provide the financial security you need. In this episode, Billy uses his expertise in disability insurance to break down the key eligibility requirements and tips to avoid common pitfalls.

Key Takeaways:

Ameritas GSI may provide eligible residents and fellows with private specialty disability coverage without medical screening.
The policy can include strong features such as true specialty own-occupation coverage, enhanced residual benefits, full recovery benefits, and future increase options.
Eligible physicians may be able to increase coverage up to $15,000 per month.
Residents and fellows generally need to be currently training at a facility where Ameritas GSI is available.
Applying for disability insurance elsewhere through medical screening can remove eligibility for Ameritas GSI.
Trainee discounts may apply to coverage purchased through the GSI opportunity.
Because there may be no exceptions after applying elsewhere, residents and fellows should understand the rules before starting the application process.

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, welcome to today’s episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m your host, Billy Gwaltney, and it’s really good to be with you as it always is. Today we’re covering the topic, we’re answering the question, what are the eligibility rules for the Ameritas GSI, or guaranteed standard issue, disability insurance for residents and fellows? I’m an independent disability broker, work with physicians nationwide.

And I’m one of the endorsed brokers for the Ameritas GSI at a particular facility and can get access to numerous facilities across the country to the GSI. This is their best coverage, the true specialty on occupation definition of disability, the enhanced residual or partial benefit, the full recovery benefit. You can increase coverage up to a total of $15,000 per month.

The benefit period is to age 65 or 67. It’s fully portable, non-cancellable, guaranteed renewable, which means you can cancel at any time, but the insurance carrier cannot. They can’t change the rate or change the definitions. You get the trainee discounts on the coverage on everything you buy up to the $15,000. And there is no medical screening required. They completely waive the medical screening.

There are a couple of gatekeeper questions where you need to be actively at work performing your duties. You also need to be currently employed at the facility where you’re a resident or fellow. The biggest eligibility deal killer is if you have applied for disability insurance with any company via medical screening. If you do, then you cannot get the guaranteed standard issued.

(02:11.468)

is just not available. So the only eligibility requirements are currently in training at a facility where it’s available to you, where you’re eligible for it as a resident or fellow there, and you cannot apply for disability insurance anywhere else. You would be surprised how many people don’t know that that’s a rule. And so they just apply and it doesn’t go the way they expect. And so they start looking for the GSI and they can’t get it.

Make sure you do your due diligence. Ignorance is not, unfortunately, a valid reason or excuse. And that is something that you can’t recover from. There are no exceptions to it. So message me here if you’d like to discuss your situation. If you want access to the guaranteed standard issue, I can certainly help you do that and at least point you in the right direction as well. 704-270-2376. You can text me and then we can schedule a time to talk.

Again, 704-270-2376. Thank you for your time. I’m grateful for that. Take care. 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.

Can I Increase Coverage While on Claim?

Posted on April 8, 2026 - 9:34 am by Dan Bannin

In this episode, Billy Gwaltney discusses the intricacies of insurance coverage during claims, particularly focusing on the limitations of increasing coverage based on salary changes. He explains the formula used by companies to determine eligibility for coverage and the stipulations surrounding benefit increase riders.

Takeaways:

You cannot add coverage if your salary as an attending.
There’s a formula that companies use to calculate coverage eligibility.
You may be eligible for a higher coverage amount after training.
Benefit increase riders have specific stipulations.
You need to increase coverage by at least 50% of the max eligible amount.
If you increase coverage, it affects your claim duration.
Understanding your coverage options is crucial during claims.
Insurance policies can be complex and require careful navigation.
Disability insurance is essential for financial security.
Consulting with an expert can clarify insurance options.

Transcript:

00;00;01;23 – 00;00;19;23

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;00;19;26 – 00;00;44;19

Hello. Welcome to today’s episode of the Cover Your Assets podcast. I’m your host, Billy Gwaltney. It’s good to be with you. Thank you for your time. The topic today is, can I increase coverage? While I’m on a disability claim, I work with thousands of physicians across the country helping them secure their private specialty on occupation disability coverage.

00;00;44;19 – 00;01;23;21

The good news? Well, the not so good news is we do have clients on claim. They they all were healthy enough or healthy ish enough to get the coverage when they started. But they never they never thought they’d need it. But they did need it. And, it’s been, a privilege. And, I’ve worked with clients during the claim process, helped them navigate that to make sure the check shows up when it’s supposed to, to make sure that anything that is, needs to be cleared up with the claims people is cleared up to make sure they stay the top priority, kind of at the top of the the

00;01;23;21 – 00;02;02;15

list of claims that they’re working on to make sure that this gets handled. In a, quick way. So that’s not so good news that they were on claim. The good news, though, is that every one of our clients has gotten paid. We’ve never had a client not get paid for a disability. We’ve never had one need to hire an attorney or go into some kind of, third party arbitration hearing or whatever you might think of to be sure they got their benefit if if your doc, if you have this coverage and you’ve done it right, if your doctor says you cannot perform the material duties you were performing before

00;02;02;15 – 00;02;25;21

the event, before the diagnosis or the event, the illness, the injury, then, they’re going to have to pay you and they know that. Now, can you increase coverage while you’re on claim? Generally, no. You cannot add coverage if your salary as an attending, there’s a formula that the companies used to calculate how much you can buy.

00;02;25;23 – 00;02;55;05

And let’s say you start in training at 5000 a month of coverage. And then when you become an attending, you’re eligible for 20,000, a month of coverage. And you say, well, I don’t need that much yet. I think I’ll just bump it up to 12,000. And you, you do that or you stay at five. But let’s say you do increase it some you just because the benefit increase rider you may know has, stipulation that you need to increase by at least 50% of the max that you’re eligible for.

00;02;55;07 – 00;03;18;18

So, if you had 5000 a month and you’re eligible for, 20,000 a month, that’s a $15,000, a month increase, you need to increase by at least 7500. So let’s say that you increase to 12,500, and just did the 50%, and you become disabled. Then the 12,500 is what you’re getting for the duration of that claim.

00;03;18;20 – 00;03;41;16

Now, if you have the cola rider cost of living adjustment rider on your policy, that amount will increase starting in the second year. Based on the the calculation for the Cola rider that you have is usually 3% somewhere in that range. And that will compound over time and in most cases, and so there will be an increase off of the 12,500.

00;03;41;20 – 00;04;05;27

Okay. What you can’t do is once you start getting the 12 five to say, well, I was eligible for 20, can I bump up to 20 now that I’m disabled? The answer is no. You can’t do that. And so it is important to make sure that you have the maximum coverage before the claim is filed. Because once it is filed, you’re, you’re you’re at that amount.

00;04;05;29 – 00;04;25;20

Again, the adjustments for the cola, but that’s it. So I wanted to answer that question. It does come up. It’s not intuitive necessarily for people that haven’t dealt with insurance. In the past, much if at all, to, to, to assume or to think that they can’t increase once they’re disabled. You can’t adjust it later.

00;04;25;20 – 00;04;49;27

So you got to plan before the event happens. Once the event happens, you just get what you have. You can’t plan much after that. Planning is about before the event. Then what happens? You’re just dealing with whatever you did or didn’t plan for before it happened. So I hope you found this helpful. Quick podcast. I wanted to just get to the point of message me here if you’d like to discuss.

00;04;49;29 – 00;05;16;29

I’d be happy to do that. Or you can text me at (704) 270-2376. Again (704) 270-2376. I look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you, as always, for your time. I’m grateful for that. Take care. Thanks for listening to the Cover Your Assets podcast and Art Conduit Media Production. New episodes drop every two weeks. If you’ve enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, rate and review this podcast.

00;05;16;29 – 00;05;30;06

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.