Podcast Episode 09 – “Disability Insurance Made Simple” with Matt Wiggins

Episode 09 – Disability insurance is a critical piece of your overall financial plan.  If you don’t have it, you won’t be able to provide for and protect your family in the event you become disabled.  It’s a type of insurance that many people don’t understand, so it can seem overwhelming to think about.

Fortunately, our guest this week will break down all the specifics of disability insurance and make it simple to understand.  By the end of this episode, you’ll know what you need to know to get started.

Protect your family by insuring the one thing that you can’t live without: your income.  It’s your most valuable asset by far, so take the necessary precautions to secure it.

 

“You only want to pay to insure things you can’t insure or protect yourself.”

 – Matt Wiggins, founder of Pattern Financial

 

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts

Free Resource: 5 Minutes to Financial Security: Your Personal Insurance Checklist

 

Connect with Matt

Website: www.patternlife.com

FREE disability quotes from Pattern: www.thescopeofpractice.com/pattern

 

 

 

 

 

Featured online community: Physician Dads Support Group

There are literally dozens of online communities for women, but precious few for dads!  The Physician Dads Support Group is a great community of fathers who want to share humor, fun stories, frustrations, and challenges.  It’s a great group of men who just want to support each other and enjoy each other’s company.  Join today!

Join the Business and Personal Finance for Physicians and Dentists Facebook Group!

Most physicians and dentists come out of training programs with a huge amount of personal debt and little to no idea of how to actually run a clinical practice.  This Facebook community is for anyone who wants to learn more about how to manage their business more successfully and master their personal finances.

 

 

10 Important Things All Physicians Should Know About Disability Insurance: .

Show times

• 00:00 – A reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail!!
• 01:15 – Introduction to the episode
• 02:21 – Introducing Matt Wiggins, founder of Pattern.
• 03:13- Matt Wiggins gives us his background and why he gravitated to serving physicians 
• 04:17 – What is disability insurance actually for?
• 06:29 – Disability is defined differently from company to company, but it includes at a minimum any injury or illness that prevents you from being able to do your job.  However, each company defines aspects of disability differently (e.g. total vs partial disability, own-occupation or not, etc.)
• 08:16 – Know the 3 “D’s” of disability insurance
• 08:38 – Disability insurance is about giving you the choice to work on your own terms following a disability.  
• 10:23 – Only six companies offer true “own-occupation” disability insurance: Principal, Ameritas, Standard, Guardian, Ohio National, and Mass Mutual.
• 11:30 – Short-term disability insurance isn’t an expense you should incur.  Save in an emergency fund to cover that and pay the premiums for long-term disability insurance only.
• 13:27 – You want to pay to insure things you can’t insure or protect yourself.
• 15:11 – At what point do we actually need to buy disability insurance?
• 16:26 – Consider getting a small policy in residency that is independent from your employer.  Get a rider that allows them to scale that up.  That way, you can’t be declined for insurance in the future.
• 17:34 – Getting denied insurance is a disaster, so how do we avoid that?
• 19:33 – Don’t buy insurance through a captive agent. Make sure you use an independent broker.
• 21:35 – Think of your personal finances like a company.  Your advisors are basically your “C-suite” advisors.  Vet them thoroughly.
• 22:42 – How do we figure out how big a policy we need to buy?
• 25:11 – If you don’t buy the rider that allows you to upgrade a policy, you can “ladder” policies over time.  However, that runs the risk that you might not be able to get a policy in the future.
• 27:32 – A guaranteed standard issue (GSI) policy is a good start for disability insurance, but it’s probably not sufficient.
• 29:26 – A note of caution, if you’ve ever been denied disability insurance, you won’t be eligible for a GSI plan.
• 29:56 – Tax issues and lack of portability for insurance policies make it important to get a policy outside your employer’s coverage.
• 32:38 – Getting disability insurance when you’re young is huge!!  Don’t skip out on disability insurance as a resident to save on premiums.  It can cost a lot in the long run!
• 36:14 – Men and women pay different rates for disability insurance.  Women tend to pay more for disability insurance, but women will pay less for life insurance.  If women can get a unisex policy, it can save big on premiums.
• 39:01 – What riders are actually worth buying?  Essential riders include: option to increase coverage rider and residual/partial rider.  Optional riders include: cost of living adjustment rider, catastrophic coverage.
• 44:33 – How do taxes come into play when it comes to buying disability insurance?
• 47:01 – Matt gives his final piece of advice to physicians.
• 50:06 – You need to get disability insurance!!!
• 50:29 – Free disability insurance quotes from Pattern!  Get it at www.thescopeofpractice.com/pattern
• 51:30 – This week’s free resource: 5 Minutes to Financial Security: Your Personal Insurance Checklist
• 52:01 – This week’s featured online community: Physician Dads Support Group
• 55:15 – Signing off

 

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