If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are concerned with medical underwriting, DO NOT apply for disability insurance coverage without checking into the availability of the Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) at UF.
Unfortunately, with most GSI plans, if you previously applied for medically underwritten coverage and were declined or offered a modified policy (a policy approved with an exclusion rider, limited benefit period, and/or a rating (additional sub-standard premium charge) to cover an adverse risk factor (like diabetes or obesity), the GSI option will not be available to you.
Additional Benefits to Guaranteed Issue Disability Insurance
- In addition to pre-existing medical conditions, Special GSI policies can be issued without consideration of potentially dangerous avocational activities such as rock climbing, motor sports, scuba diving, skydiving, and martial arts.
- Height and Weight (build) are not taken into consideration.
- Optional Catastrophic Disability Benefits (CAT) and Student Loan Riders (SLR) are available.
- This unique benefit is available to individuals that have not been declined or given a modified offer of individual disability insurance through a carrier other than Guardian more than nine months after their University of Florida hire date or in the past five years, whichever is shorter.
A definition just for physicians
Some of the strongest, most flexible protection a physician can get — this is not available anywhere else in the industry!
Our enhanced definition starts with our strong True Own-Occupation Definition of Total Disability. If totally disabled, it provides a physician with the flexibility to be gainfully employed, in some instances even in their own practice, and still receive total disability benefits. Then, we add a straightforward, easy-to-understand formula to qualify for benefits. It’s based on the source of your earnings and provides more ways to qualify for total disability benefits.
We’ll consider you totally disabled if more than 50% of your income is from:
- Hands-on patient care and, solely because of injury or illness, you can no longer perform hands-on patient care; or
- Performing surgical procedures and, solely because of injury or illness, you can no longer perform surgical procedures.
If you have limited your occupation to the performance of the material and substantial duties of a single medical specialty, we will deem that specialty to be your occupation. If you don’t qualify for benefits under the source-of-earnings formula above, then we’ll look at your key duties, including those you were performing in your medical specialty at the time your disability began, to assess whether you qualify.
Additional Information