 |
 A disability
insurance policy is a legal contract, and every disability insurance
company produces a different contract. As an attorney, if you
take one look at a disability
insurance specimen policy, you will understand that no two
disability insurance policies are the same. Every definition in
a DI policy is different with different carriers, so we invite
you to compare the language in Guardian's ProVider Plus to any
other policy on the market. The ProVider
Plus, offered by Berkshire & Guardian Life Insurance Company
of America, may indeed be the most comprehensive level of disability
insurance protection an attorney can own. The fact that you are
in our best occupational
classification means you also get the best rate we can offer
anybody.
Call 888-513-2300
Request A Disability
Insurance Quote
| What
To Look For In A Disability Insurance Policy As An Attorney |
There a few key features that make Guardian's ProVider Plus an
excellent choice for attorneys.
1. Own-Occupation Definition of Total Disability
You must read the "Definition of Total Disability"
in any company's disability insurance specimen policy. Don't just
rely on a proposal or quote, usually that language is just paraphrased.
The definition of total disability, which obviously defines when
you may collect benefits, in the ProVider Plus is the most comprehensive
definition available in the market today. A lawyer may get a pure
own-occupation definition to age 65, or lifetime if he or she
chooses the graded lifetime benefit period. Not every DI company
has a definition like this, most of them start out the same way,
and then insert language at the end that says "so long as
you are not engaged in any other occupation". The worst definitions
in the industry will say that they will pay you so long as you
can't perform "any other occupations" for which you
are qualified by education, training, or experience.
2. Unlimited Recovery Benefit
The residual disability rider offered as an optional
rider is also an unlimited recovery benefit. As an attorney, this
may be the most important aspect of the contract. You are most
likely a fee for service professional, and your income is tied
to your billable hours. If you cannot work, you cannot produce
revenue to the firm, and therefore will have difficulty generating
income for an extended period of time. Well, depending on your
current employment situation, some of you are going to be more
exposed than others. If you are in a smaller firm, or own your
own firm, if you come back to work full time after being disabled
for a period of time, your income may not just shoot back up to
what it was before you were disabled. You may have been totally
disabled for a year, but you could be residually disabled for
multiple years to come while you rebuild your practice. I have
news for you, when you get disabled, your clients get re-assigned,
or go somewhere else for legal help. They don't have the priviledge
of waiting around for you to recover from your illness. So when
you do come back to work, you will need a residual disability
rider like the one in ProVider Plus that does not have a loss
of time or duties requirement. ProVider Plus may be one of two
or three DI contracts left in the industry that does not require
a loss of time or duties to pay a residual claim. It only requires
a loss of income tied to a sickness or injury, therefore when
you recover from your claim it is an unlimited recovery benefit
until you financially recover, not just until you physically recover.
This, depending on your employment situation, may be the most
important aspect of the disability policy for you.
Call 888-513-2300
Request A Disability
Insurance Quote
It is very common for a partner in a law firm to have insufficient income protection, especially when the entire firm has group long term disability protection for all employees. While the group LTD may cover the first 5 or 10,000 a month in disability insurance benefits, there is often a gap with higher income earners. Our firm has custom solutions available for law firms of all sizes, and we have the ability to protect the highest income earning partners as well. We can put together a program of guaranteed issue supplemental disability insurance for the partners, which will reduce the gap in income protection many suffer from today. It is quite common for us to review a firm's LTD benefits to discover you are paying more than you need to on the LTD. We may recommend reducing the LTD, and using that money to purchase guaranteed issue individual policies for the partners. The end result is usually no reduction in benefits for employees who didn't need 10,000 a month in LTD, and increased protection for the highest earning members of the firm.
Call 888-513-2300
Request A Disability
Insurance Quote
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