Frequently Asked Questions

Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if an illness or injury prevents you from working. For high-income professionals — physicians, dentists, attorneys, and the self-employed — it is the single most important insurance policy you can own. Your ability to earn income is your most valuable asset. A 35-year-old physician earning $300,000 per year has over $10 million in future earning power at stake. Disability insurance protects that asset. Statistically, you are far more likely to experience a disabling illness or injury during your working years than you are to die prematurely — yet most professionals carry life insurance but skip disability coverage entirely.

True own-occupation is the gold standard of disability coverage. It means the policy pays your full benefit if you cannot perform the specific duties of your own occupation — even if you are able to work in a different capacity. For example, a surgeon who loses the use of their hands would receive full benefits even if they can still teach or consult. Any-occupation coverage, by contrast, only pays if you cannot perform any job — an extremely high bar. For physicians, dentists, attorneys, and other specialists, true own-occupation coverage is non-negotiable.

Most individual disability policies replace 60–70% of your gross income, up to carrier-specific monthly maximums. Benefits paid from a personally-owned policy are generally received income tax-free, which means your after-tax replacement rate is often close to 100% of your take-home pay. For very high earners, carriers cap monthly benefits — typically between $15,000 and $30,000 per month depending on the carrier — and excess coverage through supplemental or high-limit policies may be needed.

The elimination period is the waiting period between when your disability begins and when your policy starts paying benefits. Common options are 60, 90, or 180 days. A 90-day elimination period is the most common choice for professionals. The longer the elimination period you choose, the lower your premium — but you'll need sufficient savings or short-term disability coverage to bridge the gap. Think of it as the deductible on your policy.

Benefit periods typically range from 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, to age 65, or to age 67. For most professionals, we recommend coverage to age 65 — the point at which most people would transition to retirement savings. A 2-year or 5-year benefit period significantly reduces your premium but leaves you exposed to a long-term disability that could last decades. The most common and catastrophic disabilities — cancer, neurological conditions, mental health disorders — can last far longer than 2–5 years.

Individual disability insurance typically costs 2–4% of your gross annual income. For a physician earning $250,000, that translates to roughly $300–$700 per month depending on your age, gender, health, state, and benefit design. Premiums are higher for women (statistically higher claim rates), higher-risk occupations, older applicants, and those with pre-existing conditions. The best time to lock in the lowest rates is when you are young and healthy — ideally during residency or early in your career.

As early as possible — ideally during residency or fellowship. Rates are based on your age and health at the time you apply, and they are locked in for the life of the policy. A 28-year-old resident in excellent health will pay significantly less than a 40-year-old attending for identical coverage. Residency is also the time when special multi-life and association discounts are most widely available. Waiting means higher premiums, and if your health changes before you apply, you risk exclusions or denial.

The application process typically takes 4–8 weeks and includes a detailed questionnaire covering your medical history, current health, medications, lifestyle, and occupation. For larger benefit amounts, carriers may require blood work, a urine sample, and an Attending Physician Statement (APS) from your doctors. The underwriter reviews your entire medical history — including records from every provider you have seen — and may apply exclusions for pre-existing conditions, or rate your policy (charge a higher premium) based on health history.

In most cases, yes. The insurer will typically either approve you with an exclusion rider (excluding claims related to the specific condition), charge a slightly higher premium, or — in some cases — decline coverage. The outcome depends heavily on the condition, its severity, and how it's been managed. Common conditions like well-controlled diabetes, anxiety treated with medication, or a history of back issues are frequently insurable with an exclusion rather than a full denial. An independent broker can pre-screen your case anonymously with multiple carriers before you formally apply.

No — the price is identical. Insurance carriers file their rates with state regulators, and those rates cannot be changed based on whether you use a broker or go direct. Brokers are compensated by the carrier through commissions that are already built into the premium — you pay the same price either way. The advantage of using an independent broker is that we represent all five major carriers simultaneously and can shop your case to find the best contract at the best price, rather than being limited to a single company's products.

A Future Increase Option (FIO) — sometimes called a Guaranteed Insurability Option — allows you to increase your monthly benefit in the future without providing evidence of insurability. This means even if your health changes, you can add coverage as your income grows. This rider is especially valuable for residents and early-career professionals whose income will increase significantly over time. It locks in your current health status as the standard for future increases.

A COLA rider automatically increases your monthly benefit while you are on claim to keep pace with inflation. Most COLA riders offer annual increases of 3% compound or CPI-linked. Without a COLA rider, a $10,000/month benefit that begins at age 40 will have significantly less purchasing power by age 55. The longer your benefit period, the more important a COLA rider becomes. It adds cost to the premium but provides meaningful protection against the erosion of your benefit over a multi-decade claim.

A residual or partial disability rider pays a proportional benefit if you experience a loss of income but are still able to work in some capacity. For example, if a surgeon can only operate for 20 hours per week instead of 40 due to a condition, and their income drops by 50%, a residual rider would pay approximately 50% of the policy's monthly benefit. This is a critical rider for self-employed professionals and practice owners, where income loss — not just total inability to work — is the most likely disability scenario.

The best individual policies are non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable. "Non-cancelable" means the carrier cannot cancel your policy, raise your premiums, or change the terms as long as you pay your premiums. "Guaranteed renewable" means the carrier must renew your policy but reserves the right to raise rates on an entire class of policies. Non-cancelable is the stronger protection and is standard on the top individual policies from Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard.

In most cases, yes — employer group coverage is rarely sufficient on its own. Group plans typically have three major limitations: (1) benefits are taxable income if your employer pays the premiums, reducing your net benefit by 25–35%; (2) coverage disappears if you change jobs or get laid off; and (3) most group plans use any-occupation definitions after 24 months, meaning you only get benefits if you can't work any job. A personal policy supplements or replaces group coverage with stronger definitions, tax-free benefits, and true portability.

Short-term disability covers disabilities that last weeks to a few months, typically with a 0–14 day elimination period and a benefit period of 3–6 months. Long-term disability begins after the elimination period (typically 90 days) and can pay benefits for years, decades, or to age 65. For most professionals, long-term disability insurance is the primary coverage need. Short-term disability is valuable for bridging the elimination period gap, but it is the long-term, career-ending disability risk that causes the most financial devastation.

This is one of the most common questions we get, and it comes down to complexity. Term life insurance is relatively straightforward — the primary underwriting variable is your risk of dying, which actuaries can estimate closely from age, gender, and a few health questions. The product is largely standardized across carriers. Disability insurance is fundamentally different. Your premium and eligibility depend on a wide range of interlocking variables: your specific occupation and specialty, your occupation class, your income documentation, your state of residence, your health history, the exact benefit design you choose (elimination period, benefit period, riders), and how each carrier individually underwrites your occupation and health profile. A general dentist and an oral surgeon pay different rates. A plaintiff's attorney and a corporate attorney may be placed in different occupation classes. A 3-A occupation class from one carrier may be rated more favorably than a 4-A class from another. Getting an accurate quote requires a specialist who understands all five carriers' underwriting guidelines and can match your specific profile to the best policy. An instant online number would either be wildly inaccurate or so conservatively high that it would drive you away from coverage you actually need. Our process takes about 24 hours — you fill out a short form, and we come back with a real, side-by-side comparison built for your situation.

We are independent brokers representing all five major individual disability insurance carriers: Guardian, MassMutual, Principal, Ameritas, and The Standard. These are the carriers that offer true own-occupation policies with the contract quality that professionals require. Each carrier has strengths in specific occupations, health profiles, and benefit designs. Because we represent all five — rather than being captive to a single company — we can match you to the carrier most likely to offer the best contract for your specific situation at the most competitive price.

From quote to approved policy typically takes 4–8 weeks. The timeline depends on how quickly medical records can be retrieved from your providers, whether a paramedical exam is required, and the complexity of your health history. Simple cases with straightforward health histories can be approved in as little as 3–4 weeks. We manage the entire process on your behalf — submitting the application, coordinating with underwriters, and keeping you updated at every step.