It takes more than a decade for most doctors to pay off their student loan that they had taken to attend medical school. The average student debt in America is over $200,000, which is a huge amount any day for someone who has just begun his/her career. It is true that as a doctor, you are earning 4 times more than what the average American earns but even with this high income, you will struggle to pay off this debt within a decade.
Until such time, your student loan repayment will be your biggest expense and it will have to be paid on time every month irrespective of your condition. That means, even if you become disabled for whatever reason and are not able to work or earn an income, you will have to continue paying back the loan. How would you do it if you are disabled and not able to work? Very simple – invest in a high limits student loan payoff individual disability insurance (IDI) policy.
Disability is real and it will be a big mistake to ignore it
It’s understandable when common folks try to argue against disability saying they don’t live and drive dangerously and hence won’t meet with an accident. They don’t know that accidents cause just one in every ten cases of disability. Over 9 out of 10 disabilities are caused by illnesses and that can happen to anyone. Hence you need to have a doctors disability insurance to cover this risk.
The other important stat which young doctors would do well to remember is that studies project one in every four American millennials will suffer some kind of long term disability in their lifetime. The question that arises now is, can you, as a young doctor with such a huge debt to repay, afford to pay all your bills if you are disabled for a few years? Most likely, not and that’s why you need a healthcare professionals disability insurance.
Why you must invest in a long term policy to cover against disability
You may argue, ‘People don’t normally fall sick for more than a few months. Why should I invest so much in a long term policy?’ Again, it is important for all young doctors to know that the average long term disability duration in America is over 2½ years. A short term policy will cover you for just 6 months. What happens if your disability runs for the national average tenure? Only a long term physicians disability insurance can provide you adequate cover in such a situation.
It is in the early part of your career that you need disability insurance services more than when you have been in the profession for 10-15 years. By that time, your income would at least be double if not more and you would have repaid your student loan completely. It is the first decade of your career when you need this cover more than at any other time.
If you happen to get disabled for a few years during this period without a healthcare professionals insurance cover, that could set you back by quite a few years.
