Life and income protection insurance for doctors and dentists

As a medical professional, you spend your days looking after others’ health and wellbeing. But what about your own? Doctors, dentists, nurses and other health professionals can be more prone to work-related injury or illness than other occupations. With these risks, life and income protection insurance is crucial. Most people have no hesitation in insuring their house, car and other valuable tangible assets, but in reality, your income is worth significantly more.

Insuring your most valuable asset, you and your ability to generate personal exertion income, is one of the most important types of insurance you will ever arrange. Let’s look at some life and income insurance options for medical professionals who want to protect their income should they become unable to work.

Income protection insurance

Income protection insurance is designed to protect you and your family against the financial disaster that could occur if you could not work for an extended period. Your income can be replaced with a monthly benefit to provide peace of mind. In some cases, after a period of being totally unable to work, if you go back only part-time or in a lesser capacity, income protection can top up your reduced income with a partial payment. Most income protection policies are designed to cover both total and partial disability, providing the flexibility to cover most claim scenarios.

Why is income protection insurance important for doctors and other medical professionals?

According to the World Health Organisation, healthcare workers are exposed to a range of health and safety hazards in their everyday work. This includes exposure to blood-borne viruses like HIV and hepatitis, chemical hazards, physical hazards, and psychological hazards. There are also high rates of back injury, particularly for workers like nurses and paramedics, who may be required to lift patients on a daily basis. According to Safe Work Australia, in 2016-2017, as an occupation, healthcare and social assistance workers made serious claims for injury and musculoskeletal disorders in greater numbers than any other occupation group, with 15,080 claims.

How much can you claim from income protection?

In the event of either sickness or accident that renders you unable to work for either 2 or 4 weeks or more, depending on the waiting period chosen, income protection provides up to 75% of your pre-disability income at the time of claim. Your replacement income can be tailored to provide short- or long-term cover, depending on the selected benefit payment period. The period of cover can vary anywhere from 2 years, up until age 65, with most doctors and medical specialists selecting to have cover to age 65. The selected waiting period varies between 2 and 13 weeks, depending on the type of employment, i.e. public hospital system, private practice, or a combination of both.

What does income protection insurance cover?

Income protection insurance policies cover your specified occupation. If you’re a surgeon, you are covered as a surgeon in your specialty. The same applies to all medical specialties. These policies provide valuable cover if you’re unable to engage in the day-to-day activities of your occupation due to illness or injury. If you’re employed in the public hospital system and are off work, sick leave and annual leave only provide limited cover. Work cover (also known as workers’ compensation) also only provides limited cover while you are at work, and over 90% of disabilities do not qualify for a claim under work cover. Comprehensive income protection cover helps you protect your income and provides peace of mind if you are unable to work.

How much does income protection insurance cost?

The insurance cost will depend on several factors, including age, income level, type of coverage, and whether you opt for stepped or level premiums. With stepped premiums, the cost increases exponentially, while with level premiums, the cost increases by much less in comparison. Premiums for income protection cover are tax-deductible and should be claimed in your annual tax return when paid personally. This effectively reduces the cost significantly, and for doctors and medical specialists in the top tax bracket, the tax office is essentially covering almost half of the premium for you.

How do I choose the right income protection insurance for my needs?

When applying for income protection cover, insurers typically require an application or a telephone interview that includes a series of questions as part of the assessment process. These questions cover personal details, occupation, current income and income over the last 12 months, medical history, sports and other activities, smoking and drinking habits, and details about your general practitioner, among other specific questions.

Need some advice on finding the right income protection? Get in touch to book a free initial consultation with our financial advisors.

Life insurance for doctors and dentists

Doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals can be exposed to a number of unique risks at work. Some risks, such as needlestick injuries, are not covered by all life insurance policies. The policy features and benefits you may want to consider will depend on the type of life insurance cover you are looking for. Some examples include;

• Blood-borne disease cover, also known as a ‘needlestick benefit’, provides a payout if you acquire blood-borne diseases like HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C during the course of your work.
• Own occupation TPD cover that provides a payout if you become totally and permanently disabled due to illness or injury and are unable to do your job. You can still get a payout if you can’t do the specialty you used to be able to do, but you can still work in your profession as a general medical professional.
• Business expense insurance is similar to an income protection policy for your practice.
• Future increase benefit that allows you to make large cover increases without needing to undertake medical tests as your income increases throughout your career.

Get specialised income protection insurance advice for doctors, dentists and medical professionals

To protect everything you’ve worked hard for and ensure you and your family are covered against illness, injury or death, risk insurance is critical. Our insurance specialists for dental and medical professionals can help you set up and structure a policy to suit your needs.

Book an initial consultation on us to learn more about how we can help.