Income Protection for Surgeons

September 23rd, 2012

The personal insurance market for medical professionals is a very competitive and dynamic place. Products are regularly upgraded with improvements to core definitions as well as the addition of other bells and whistles.

Of utmost concern to surgeons in regard to insurances is the confirmation that the policy they chose to implement will acknowledge the specific type of surgery they conduct, and the skills or dexterity required to do it.

There is no doubt that some products in the market are more in tune with medical professionals and will have greater scope to acknowledge even a sub-speciality within a field of medicine. This is a very key factor in deciding on the right insurer.

Further to this, there are now many different ways to incorporate the needlestick aspect of insurance into a portfolio. Needlestick cover specifically responds to the contraction of HIV, Hep B and C in the workplace and is clearly an important risk to consider for surgeons. You have a few options in the market which can be linked to income protection or your lump sum covers.  A few of the policies now have it built in as a multiple of your monthly income cover (say 50 times).

It is important to acknowledge that a well-considered insurance plan will cover a surgeon for a needlestick – in the event the needlestick prevents them from further work in surgery or through disclosure the needlestick results in fewer billings. A good income cover will again address this scenario with a valid claim.

New professionals’ packages are a good opportunity to consider for recent college admissions, where $15,000 per month of Agreed income cover is on offer within 3 years of qualification. So even though your income is not over $250k yet, you can lock in a good quality Level premium to give you significant savings over the life of the policy.

If a 35-year old male takes out $15,000 per month of Agreed value income cover, he will save over $65,000 in premiums by the time he turns 60, just by taking a Level premium structure.

Food for thought in a high risk occupation…