Life Insurance and Income Protection for Doctors

Whether you are a doctor, dentist, nurse, or any other type of medical professional, you are exposed to unique risks in the workplace. As someone that has dedicated their lives to improving the health of others, you would have a unique appreciation for the fragility of ones health and the impact that illness and injury can have on a family.

Life Insurance, disability insurance, income protection and trauma insurance all offer varying forms of protection against unforseen injuries and illnesses.

Income protection serves to protect your most valuable asset, your income. Your income is what you rely on to survive. As a result, if you were to suffer from an illness that prevented you from working, the consequences are potentially dire.

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Income protection typically allows you to insure up to 80% of your gross monthly income (this is your maximum monthly monthly benefit.) You will begin to receive your monthly benefit once you have been unable to work for a pre-determined amount of time (the waiting period.)

Waiting periods range from as little as 14 days to as long as 2 years. The most common waiting periods are 30 and 90 days. You will be in receipt of this monthly benefit until you return to work or your benefit period finishes. Medical professionals can typically take out income protection insurance with a benefit period that lasts until you turn age 70.

As well as this, there are policy features that are specifically available to medical professionals like yourself. An example of this is the needlestick benefit that is often included with income protection policies. There are over 18,000 reported cases of needlestick transmitted diseases every year in Australia. As a result, it is one of the biggest occupational health risks that medical professionals face.

Needlestick cover provides a lump sum payment to you upon diagnosis of occupationally acquired Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV. Generally, these diseases do not have to be contracted directly as a result of a ‘needlestick’ injury. Many insurance companies will pay you a lump sum if the disease results from a needlestick, a scalpel injury, blood contact via a cut or abrasion and even a blood splash to the eyes.

Most income protection policies will provide you with an upfront payment of the lesser of 50 times the monthly benefit or $1,000,000. This payment is in addition to any monthly benefit that you would recieve by being off of work do to the blood borne disease you have contracted at work.

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What are some of the fundamental products and features you be aware as a medical professional?

Income Protection Insurance – Rarely is a medical professional’s insurance portfolio complete without Income Protection insurance. As the cost of living in Australia continues to rise, we are more reliant on our income than ever before. Income Protection insurance will ensure that your income continues while you are unable to work due to injury or illness. This benefit allows you to maintain your lifestyle despite that fact that you are unable to work.

It is very important to look out for a capability clause when assessing your income protection needs. Capability clauses allow an insurer to reduce your claim based on the amount of time you are capable of working as opposed to what you are actually working. The reason this is of particular importance to doctors is because there are a number of specialties where it is particularly hard to find patients when you are unable to work full time. Get in touch with one of our advisers today to find out how this could impact you.

Business Expenses Insurance – If you run your own practice, have you considered how the businesses ongoing financial obligations will be met should you be unable to work? Business expenses insurance does exactly that, it will cover your fixed expenses while you are unable to. It allows for you to keep the lights on while you decide what to do next.

It affords you the possibility to bring in the locum that is best suited to your practice and patients. It is similarly important to look out for a capability clause when comparing business expenses insurance.

Trauma Insurance – As a doctor, you’ve seen it all. You’ve seen how catastrophic the diagnosis of a critical medical condition can be and the impact it can have on the lives of those involved. No one can appreciate the importance of trauma insurance more than doctors, nurses and fellow medical professionals.

Trauma Insurance provides you and your loved ones with capital that is intended to provide you with a buffer at what would be a very tough time. It provides you with the peace of mind that not only will you have no financial worries during your illness, it also provides you with the freedom to seek out the most appropriate medical advice regardless of the cost.

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General Advice Disclaimer

General advice warning: The advice provided is general advice only and in preparing it we did not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you should consider how appropriate the advice is to your particular investment needs, and objectives. You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision relating to a financial product.

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