When you choose to be a dentist in the United States, you need to be prepared for the cost which is one of the highest among all kinds of specialist technical education programs. Back in 2016, the average debt of dental school graduates was well over $262,000. Repaying that kind of money with interest takes a long time but it is also true that dentists earn a lot faster than doctors in many other specializations. Now, if you are a young dentist with a $300,000 loan to repay, what happens if you fall ill and are disabled for a few years? Don't assume, 'No, that won't happen to me; not now.' Well, it can happen to you or anybody else at any time. Just remember that you are not in charge of this. Disabled for a few years means no work and no income for that period. How will you repay your loan? That’s why you need dentists disability insurance.
Disability is real – don’t neglect it
Unfortunately, over two-thirds of Americans do not take the risks originating from disability, seriously. That explains why the insurance companies conduct an awareness campaign in the month of May every year to educate people about the importance of disability insurance. A lot of people including a large number of doctors very easily underscore the risk of disability in their lives.
Most folks are under the delusion that only accidents cause disability. That may sound incredible considering the fact that doctors are generally well-informed and the stats show the evidence right up-front. Over three-fourths of all disabilities are caused by illnesses. Doctors including dentists are not immune to that and hence should have a doctors disability insurance.
Ensure that you don’t stop earning
When you opt for a healthcare professionals disability insurance there are several policy options that you get to choose from. To begin with, you have the choice of opting for a short term and/or a long term policy. The short term policy will cover you for a maximum of 6 months.
A long term physicians disability insurance policy covers you for a minimum of 2 years and right up to your retirement. Then you need to decide the level of income replacement benefit. A short term policy offers a maximum benefit of 80% of your after-tax income while long term policies offer a maximum of 60%.
Tackle the debt and get it out of your life
As a dentist you generally come under the higher income category and 60% of your after-tax income is quite enough to meet all your basic expenses including your education loan repayment. Of course, healthcare professionals insurance offers several riders to optimize the policy as per your needs.
It is therefore preferable to hire the services of a reliable disability insurance broker to customize the policy in order to get the maximum benefit. There is a lot of information in the policy document for you to read and understand what is good for you. However, the experience and insights that a professional broker brings is often invaluable. MGIS is a pioneer of some of the most imaginative products in the disability insurance industry and has a history of 50 long years in providing cover against disability to individuals.
