Doctors have specialized requirements for income protection not addressed by typical group disability insurance solutions.
This unique disability insurance includes highly valued individual disability policy provisions, but with guaranteed issue and simplified administration. In essence, Disability Guard for Doctors™ offers you the best of individual disability insurance (IDI) and group long-term disability (LTD) in one package.
If at time of claim, the Employee/Doctor continues to receive income, yet is not working, MGIS will further evaluate the earnings to determine the source and if it is lagged.
If the earnings are determined to be lagged (earnings for worked performed prior to Disability), and the Employee/Doctor is not working, the earnings would not be considered Disability Earnings.
This means that doctors may qualify for an earnings loss sooner than with other LTD carriers.
Some long-term disability (LTD) policies allow the claims examiner to determine the number of hours you could work if working to your “maximum capacity.” The income you could receive is then used to reduce the LTD benefit you are paid – whether you are earning that income or not.
Maximum capacity or “optimal ability” language gives the carrier the right to assume that the claimant can work more than they are currently and reduce the doctor’s benefit accordingly.
Our Disability Guard for DoctorsTM policy does not include this highly subjective limitation.
Long-term disability carriers may use the “40-hour work week” as a standard for providing disability benefits. This means carriers may consider a doctor who works 40 hours as not disabled because they are working “full-time.” However, doctors do not always follow the typical workweek expectations.
MGIS understands that many doctors work over 40 hours a week and that working fewer hours can lead to significant income loss.
Doctors face a significant amount of stress due to the daily grind and demands of their profession. This stress can often lead to burnout.
Most group disability contracts rely on lifetime limitations to MNDA contract limitations in order to save costs.
Disability Guard for DoctorsTM includes a per-occurrence MNDA provision. With a per-occurrence provision, if an insured suffers from an MNDA disability, fully recovers, but then relapses six months after the recovery date, they will be eligible for another 24 months of MNDA benefits.
If you can work part-time or perform partial duties but refuse to do so, some LTD policies will terminate your LTD benefit payment.
Our LTD policies don’t include termination of coverage provisions for part-time work.
Many carriers limit claim costs by including restrictive contract language known as “self-reported” condition limitations.
Carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, migraines, and chemical allergies are a few examples of self-reported disabilities. These conditions are some of the leading causes of disability for healthcare professionals.
Disability Guard for DoctorsTM does not include any self-reported condition limitations. We treat self-reported conditions the same as any other disability.
Many traditional long-term disability carriers require a claimant to follow an insurance company-approved rehabilitation program or risk losing benefits. Mandatory rehabilitation may also require you to be retrained for another job.
Disability Guard for DoctorsTM does not include rehabilitation requirements and will not impose mandatory programs on claimants. Being retrained is voluntary. If you’d like to be retrained, we will do so at no cost to you – and may pay an extra percentage of the monthly benefit during the process. This mirrors most IDI policies.
Some carriers require claimants to undergo specific treatment plans or face a reduction in coverage.
Disability Guard for DoctorsTM does not require any recommended treatments.
MGIS defines disability based on the actual procedures each doctor regularly performed for twelve months before the onset of disability.
The MGIS claims team determines “actual procedures” by obtaining billable procedure codes from the policy holder, including CPT, CDT/ADA, modifiers, and codes relevant to the individual claimant.
According to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), the starting salary for Vets has been rising every year since 2014.2 As a result, many veterinarians have growing income-protection needs—similar to those of other doctors.
Typical group LTD contracts do not address these specialized income protection needs. Disability Guard for Doctors™ was designed for veterinarians and includes key coverage features aligned with the IDI coverage many veterinarians already have.
While many Americans collect only a salary from their employer, doctors often receive bonuses and K-1 (partnership) income if they are an owner of a practice. Many group LTD policies provide income replacement for base salary only, disregarding these other major income sources.
The higher the pre-disability earnings (PDE), the higher the monthly benefit. (Subject to the policy’s monthly max benefit). Correctly defining PDE will also improve the claims process.
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