Insure your income first.
Your biggest asset is your future paychecks. Group vs individual disability insurance, the riders that matter, term vs whole life, and the mistakes clinicians make.
Reviewed June 2026 · verify against current guidelines
Why It Comes First
Protect the paycheck.
Your earnings are the asset
Early in a career, lifetime earnings dwarf any portfolio. Lose the ability to work and the whole plan collapses.
The risk is real
- Social Security: a 20-year-old has a 1-in-4 chance of disability before retiring.
- Most claims come from illness, not accidents.
Buy these two before investing, before any fancy permanent policy.
Disability Insurance
Own-occupation, individual.
Group LTD vs individual policy
| Group LTD | Individual own-occ | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Own-occ ~24 mo, then any-occ | Pays your specialty, full term |
| Taxes | Taxable if employer-paid | Tax-free (you pay post-tax) |
| Portability | Ends when you leave | Yours, locked in |
| Amount | ~60% of base, capped | You choose; stacks on top |
Riders worth paying for
- True own-occupation: pays even if you work elsewhere.
- Residual: proportional benefit once income drops 20%+.
- Future increase option: buy more later, no exam.
- COLA: benefit rises with inflation after 12 months.
- Non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable: terms locked.
Group is a floor. Add an individual policy. In training, lock in GSI while young and healthy.
LTD long-term disabilityown-occ own-occupationGSI guaranteed standard issueCOLA cost-of-living adjustment
Life Insurance
Term, not whole.
- Buy level term, 20 to 30 years. Skip whole and universal.
- Coverage roughly 10 to 15x income: clear debts, replace you.
- Healthy 30-year-old: ~$1M of 30-yr term near $50/month.
Who actually needs it
Only if someone depends on your income or you co-signed debt. Federal loans die with you; private loans can fall to a cosigner.
Whole life sold as an investment is usually high cost, low return. Buy term, invest the rest.
Common Mistakes
Where clinicians slip.
- Relying on group LTD alone: taxable, capped, not portable.
- Buying 'any-occupation' coverage that pays only if you can't do any job.
- Waiting until after training, when health can raise rates or block coverage.
- Over-buying whole life as an investment instead of term.
- Skipping the residual and future-increase riders.
Use a fee-only advisor or an independent agent who sells multiple carriers.
Educational only, not financial advice. Policy definitions, riders, pricing, and tax rules vary by carrier, state, and over time. Confirm with a licensed independent agent or a fee-only advisor before buying or changing coverage.
Sources
Verify against current guidelines and local protocol before acting.
- Social Security Administration. Disability Benefits (Pub. EN-05-10029): a 20-year-old worker has a 1-in-4 chance of disability before full retirement age.
- American Medical Association. Evaluating a disability policy: own-occupation, residual, future-increase, COLA, and GSI for residents.
- White Coat Investor. Disability insurance riders; term vs whole life insurance for physicians.
- Guardian Life. Own-occupation disability insurance and income-protection riders (residual, COLA, future increase).
- Federal Student Aid, studentaid.gov. Loan discharge upon death: federal loans discharged; private loans vary by lender and cosigner.
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