Frequently Asked Questions

It depends! If you have several million dollars in the bank, then probably not. But if you're like the rest of us, then chances are that you will need a Disability Insurance policy to insure your income in the event of a long term injury or illness.

Great question! Most employer's will provide their employees with a group Disability Insurance plan, but it's important to understand these plans. Most are not portable which means that if you leave your employer, your plan will not go with you. Additionally, all group plans will limit the amount of income that you will be able to protect in the event of a disability claim. Finally, most plans will not protect you in your medical or dental specialty which means that if the carrier decides that you are able to work in any other occupation, then they will not pay your claim.

True Own Occupation Disability Insurance is a type of insurance that deems you to be disabled if you are not able to perform the main duties of your occupation due to an injury or illness. As a Physician or Dentist, this means that if you are not able to work in your medical specialty, then the carrier will consider you to be disabled and will pay your full disability benefit for as long as you are not able to fully work in the specialty, even if you are employed in another specialty or occupation while disabled.

Insurance Carriers want people to purchase their policies when they are younger and healthier. In order to make it more advantageous for people to do this, they carve out Residents & Fellows and offer massive discounts for purchasing your policy through an approved broker while you are in training. This means that by purchasing your policy as a Resident or Fellow, you will lock in a 20-30% discount that will remain on your policy for the rest of your career.

Almost 50% of our clients have some sort of pre-existing condition. If you are comfortable sharing some details about your situation, we can assess if you will be able to obtain coverage, what a potential offer for coverage would look like, and how best to proceed, and we do this before ever submitting an official application for coverage. If you are unable to obtain coverage normally, there are plenty of other options to obtain coverage regardless of medical history.

There are many variables that are factored into a quote. Rates differ greatly based on gender, specialty and age. We’re happy to show you where the differences are between quotes so you can make an educated decision.

First of all, thank you for your service! Second of all, of course! While some carriers may not insure active duty military members or may require you to suspend your coverage while on active duty, there are some carriers that will insure you and not require you to suspend coverage. If you're an active duty service member or will be after graduation, give us a call so that we can find the best policy for you!

As a Resident or Fellow, you are usually only able to purchase up to $5,000 per month of tax-free disability coverage. Once you graduate and your income goes up, you will be able to increase your coverage to protect your new income. The process for this is very easy and involves a 2-page application and proof of new income (usually an employment contract). Once received, it takes the carrier 2-3 days to review the information and approve the increase. Once approved, you will be charged the new premium to place the increase in force. Also, remember that discount you obtained in training? That same discount gets applied to the premium for the increase as well!

Hey, we totally get it! While you're not exactly eating ramen noodles every night, you're probably not far from it. If that's the case and you want to obtain coverage, we can help design a plan that fits your budget and will meet your needs now and for when you graduate. 

When you're ready to proceed, we'll just need 2-3 minutes of your time for a brief phone call to begin the electronic application. Shortly after our call, you will receive an email with a link to review and electronically sign the application. Once the carrier has received and reviewed the application, they will either email you a link to complete a brief health history questionnaire, or contact you over the phone to complete it. If the carrier has no additional questions after reviewing the application and health questionnaire, they will make a decision on your policy. If they do have some additional questions, they will contact you directly to discuss if minor, or request records from your physician(s) to review if their questions are a little more involved.

Possibl!y! Because of our relationships with many of the major academic hospitals and health systems in the country, we are able to provide discounted coverage to many Attending Physicians at major programs around the country. Want to know if your employer has a discount available? Just give us a shout!

As your broker, we're here to service your policy for as long as you would like us to! The consultant that assisted you when purchasing your policy should be your first point of contact should you have any questions about your policy. Should something occur where the person you initially worked with is no longer a consultant with us, you will be contacted immediately and assigned a new point of contact. This person will reach out to introduce themselves and provide you with their direct contact information.

We do! If you are in the market for life insurance, we offer both Term and Permanent Life Insurance options, and are appointed with over 50 A-rated insurance carriers. This allows us to find you the best policy for your needs at the best rate available!

While we are purely a Disability and Life Insurance Broker, our parent company, Shields Financial, provides a full suite of Financial Services such as Student Loan Management, Investment and Retirement Planning, Insurance, Education Planning, etc.