top of page

Disability Income Insurance for University of Washington Medical Residents and Fellows

This page outlines our approach to placing Disability Income (DI) insurance for UW Medical Residents and Fellows, along with a suggested product.  

 

When selecting an insurance company, all criteria fall into one of these four categories.

  • Ability to qualify  

  • Carrier reputation

  • Guarantees and features

  • Pricing

​​

Ability to Qualify

Insurers need to know individual medical history and lifestyle in order to know how far they can go with guarantees and features, and at what cost. 

 

The quality of coverage and information requirements move together.  So, if you have no interest the good stuff and just want to be able to say you have it, the information requirements will be quite minimal.  If you want a lot of choice and security, expect a lot of questions.

Carriers have varying levels of risk tolerance for any given medical history and lifestyle.   Some carriers can make mountains out of molehills due to their own unique experience, while other carriers don't bat an eyelash at the very same condition.  As a broker, we rely on experience, reference guides, and connections with underwriters to anticipate outcomes without revealing your identity.

Carrier Reputation

​The carrier's reputation is important due to the number of ways carriers can manage claims and the somewhat higher degree of subjectivity that individual policies afford.

The difficulty here is that reputation is not measurable, and anecdotal stories based on observation are not rigorous.  Nevertheless, experience does inform decisions.​ Some effort must be made to account for carrier reputation because if the carrier doesn't perform, none of the other categories matter.

To make these comparisons as measurable as possible, our deliverables reference carrier financial ratings, mutuality (mutual companies don't have stockholders), and complaint ratios, which taken together reflect reputation as accurately as one can expect.

Guarantees and Features

Medical residents not only need disability insurance, but they need a particular kind of disability insurance with suitable guarantees and features like:

  • A definition of disability that is specific to medical specialty and/or revenue sources.  For example, if you were disabled as a cardiologist or your revenues mostly come from procedures you can't do any more, you would want that to qualify you as disabled even if you could theoretically still work as a physician more generally.

  • True own occupation coverage.  "True" refers to the absence of the "not working" requirement, enabling a person to earn money on the side - while on claim - without jeopardizing benefits.  This provides an easier path to qualify as Totally Disabled, which is the most favorable type of claim because Total Disability benefits are paid out as the full fixed dollar monthly indemnity amount with no formulaic reductions, regardless of how small pre-disability earnings may be.   The freedom to work on the side without a ceiling on those earnings is important because disability benefits are sometimes inadequate to support the desired lifestyle.  That's the economic reason for "true".  There is also a psychological reason: it is in the nature of high achievers to focus on what they can do rather than what they can't, and "true" keeps that outlet open.

  • Strong guarantees that prevent loss of coverage or a recalculation of potential benefits.  As you are probably aware from experience, people tend to work less in the time period leading up to claim which can be years in the making.  When a health issue comes into view, it is important that there be a guarantee that no portion of coverage will be lost due to earning less or working less.

  • Benefits that are paid independent of other sources.  This means that the benefit is fixed, regardless of any other available sources such as group LTD, Social Security, retirement draws or court settlements.  This is important in order to have true security and choice, and maybe sanity.  Also, consider that it is common to change employment several times over the course of one's career.  DI benefits should be completely separate from any group LTD offered by the employer of the moment.

  • Future increase options, which permit the policy to be upgraded as earnings rise.  With substantial increases in earnings on the horizon, residents absolutely need this.  There are many complex considerations here, such as whether an individual can qualify for it, the timing of option window intervals, use-it-or-lose-it rules, maximum age, and whether additional layers will be attached to the existing policy as opposed to new policies.  It is the finer details that make this feature useful or not.  It matters a great deal how the carrier executes these offers.

Pricing

With respect to pricing, we look for:

​​

  • Special discounts for UW medical residents and fellows that are truly unique, meaning they cannot be acquired on the street.

  • Relaxed eligibility in terms of the timing of acquisition.  Ideally any special deals would remain available during one's entire residency, not just at the very beginning.

  • Lasting discounts that continue after residency - preferably for one's entire career.  These are sometimes referred to as "sticky" discounts or "permanent" discounts.

  • Discounts that apply to future upgrades, not just the initial purchase.  Because the bulk of coverage will probably be added after completing residency, those layers of coverage should ideally get the same discount originally awarded when the policy  was first issued.

  • Low initial entry cost options, possibly by taking advantage of a graded premium option or a smaller policy that is still eligible to be built up over time.  Residents have very little income and so the priority is usually just to get in for the minimum initial outlay, even if it requires creativity.

  • Premium guarantees that lock in the terms for a full career, upgrades in volume notwithstanding.  This is part and parcel of what the industry calls non-cancellable coverage, which means the policy won't come up for renewal nor will the rate change until some age like 65.

A Product Suggestion

In the absence of personal information, we do have a product suggestion to serve as a starting point for learning what a good policy looks like. 

MassMutual's flagship Disability Income product, Radius Choice (policy form ICC15-XLIS-RC) comes closer to meeting everything on the wish-list than any other carrier.​  For information about that offering, refer to MassMutual's approved materials which are provided below.

If you would like to apply, you can request an application kit at the bottom of this page.  ​​

consumer flyer
Apply

Pricing depends on individual circumstances, including medical history.

Not ready to apply?  Get a recommendation or browse our catalogue of all DI products.

Filling out this form doesn't limit you.

bottom of page