Income Protection for Medical Residents and Fellows
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2015/02/21 - Updated: 2026/01/22
Publication Type: Informative
Category Topic: Insurance - Related Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This product information details specialized income protection insurance designed specifically for medical residents and fellows during their training years. The guidance proves particularly valuable because it addresses the unique financial vulnerabilities physicians face early in their careers - when earning potential is highest but time and resources are most limited. Young doctors benefit from understanding critical policy features like specialty-specific disability definitions that protect their hard-earned medical skills, guaranteed future purchase options that lock in coverage without additional medical exams, and residual benefit riders that provide partial income replacement if they can still work in a reduced capacity. The streamlined application process, which often eliminates medical testing requirements, makes obtaining coverage feasible even during demanding residency schedules - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
Friday, March 20th, each of the 155 medical schools in the United States participates in Match Day. Thousands of medical students learn where they are contracted for their residency or fellowship program. Residents and fellows understand their financial planning needs will continue to grow as their careers progress. Advisers need to understand that income protection is one of the key components of a strong financial plan. Secura Consultants offers assistance to select advisers by designing unique income protection strategies for medical residents and fellows.
Main Content
By partnering with leading insurance carriers, Secura Consultants now offers income protection plans with the contract features residents and fellows must consider.
These plans are highlighted by a specialty definition of disability to protect a physician's unique skills, the guaranteed right to purchase additional insurance without having to prove medical insurability, long term residual benefits, cost of living increases which mitigates the erosion of buying power due to inflation, and more.
In addition, Secura Consultants is expert in the design of combination plans utilizing multiple carriers to enhance these benefits and providing a pool of benefits which can protect a physician throughout their entire career.
A young physician's greatest challenge is also one of the most important factors when it comes to implementing an income protection plan, time. Many of these programs provide a streamlined underwriting process with no medical testing and no limitations or extra premium costs due to current or prior medical history.
It is not difficult for young residents and fellows to contemplate being faced with an injury or illness severe enough that it changes the course of the career they are working so hard to establish.
Virtually every physician will purchase income protection insurance and it is essential that an adviser serving this marketplace partners with expert consultants to design and implement these plans.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: Given that physicians face disability rates comparable to the general population yet carry significantly higher student debt loads - often exceeding $200,000 - the timing of disability insurance purchases becomes crucial. Policies purchased during residency typically cost substantially less than those obtained after establishing a practice, when both premiums and underwriting scrutiny increase. What many young physicians don't realize is that the specialty definition of disability becomes harder to obtain once they're in practice, making residency an ideal window to secure terms that could protect their ability to work in their chosen subspecialty for decades to come - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.