MD Preferred Blog

This article originally appeared on Capson Physicians Insurance's blog

As 2017 comes to a close, we all make personal resolutions. But what about professional resolutions designed to ensure a prosperous, productive and stress-free new year? For solo and small practice physicians, specific resolutions could lay the groundwork for a year of unparalleled success. But choosing not to prepare for the inevitable pitfalls all practices face could result in a year of financial and legal headaches. The truth is that it’s not a matter of “if” a physician will face a professional crisis, it’s when. The good news is that physicians can follow simple steps to avoid unwanted drama.

First, let’s understand the reality. For solo practitioners and those in small practices, the sphere of risk is greater than for colleagues who operate in large health care systems. For the latter, in-house attorneys and sweeping professional liability coverage may provide a cushion of security. But big systems are not a perfect fit for everyone. Some physicians prefer autonomy, providing highly personalized services, and reaping the rewards of their own businesses. Furthermore, the need for rural practitioners attracts physicians who want to make a positive difference in underserved communities. Whatever reasons physicians have for going small, they all deserve the same protection as their colleagues. 

Given their often high student loan balances, doctors can have a hard time qualifying for home mortgages. To combat the issue experienced by this group, some companies offer home mortgages targeted directly at new doctors and their unique financial situation.

These mortgages typically come at higher interest rates, and they don’t require a down payment. Many giants in the industry, such as Bank of America, have seen a large increase in how much of their business comes from these physician mortgages.

However, even smaller banks are getting into this particular market. Bank SNB saw $50 million those particular mortgages last year and is expecting to reach closer to $100 million this year, CNBC reported. 

By: Gary Fegan, DisabilityQuotes.com

Disability insurance policies are made up of a base policy and various policy riders. A rider is additional coverage that can be added to a policy. Additional riders are used to add supplemental coverage and make it part of a policy. There are some riders that can be essential for your situation and worth adding to the policy. There are other riders that would quite frankly be a waste of your premium dollars.

All disability carriers offer different riders. Some features are included in some policies but are riders on others- so it is important to look closely at the base policy and any and all riders considered. The riders allow you the flexibility to customize the policy to fit your specific situation and needs. Optional riders on an individual disability insurance (IDI) policy can help make sure that the coverage is for your specific occupation and keeps pace with inflation; guard against partial disabilities; and, even allow one the opportunity to purchase additional coverage without any further medical questions in the future.

The following five features are most commonly selected by our clients: 

Dougherty & Associates

What does financial wellness mean and why is it important?

We know from experience that people who feel “well” financially are able to make better financial decisions. They feel more confident and optimistic about where they are now and where they are headed. They are therefore less apprehensive, stressed and fearful. They feel empowered to build healthy habits for pursuing and sustaining living life as they envision it. As a consequence, they are less prone to making mistakes that are costly, including procrastination and avoidance, not to mention things like selling out of their investment strategy at the worst possible time (market timing), or incurring significant credit card debt.  

By: Gary Fegan

Ask yourself the following questions. If you answered yes to any of them then you mostly likely need the coverage:

1. Do you depend on your income to survive financially? How would you pay the bills if your income stopped? Another way to answer this question honestly for yourself is, am I able to take a 6-12 month unpaid vacation tomorrow. That’s really what experiencing a disability could be like. It is like having an extended period of time with no more income coming in because you are too sick or injured to work. One can only hope that should you become disabled it is only for 6 months, the reality of a long term disability could be much worse.

It's human nature - most of us don't want to think about getting sick or injured, or about struggling financially because we are unable to work. Yet it's a possibility we all must consider. The 1985 Commissioner's Individual Disability Table A provides data on the probability of an individual becoming disabled. These are only probabilities and actual results will vary on each individual's characteristics (Le. age, gender, occupation, health status, etc.). 

Doug Mitchell, CLU
Ogletree Financial Services, LLC

Every physician who opens a practice either on their own or with partners has invested significant time, money, and sweat to get there and finally realize their vision and get their doors open. The debts are substantial but manageable and over time, if you grow your patient list, you'll understand that it was all worth every dime and every minute.

This article is for those physicians with a brand new practice. Here, we’ll discuss managing your everyday financial risks and explain the insurance products that will be necessary to mitigate your risk and implement a legitimate business continuation plan. After all, once you’re licensed to practice, getting to this point is all about the money and you are going to need financial protection every step of the way. 

Never have there been so many options for physicians seeking a mortgage. Banks have come out of the woodworks to offer doctor or physician mortgages as they are so often called. In a nutshell, these loans make it easier for doctors to qualify for mortgage financing.

How does a physician mortgage make it easier to qualify?

As compared to a conventional mortgage or a jumbo mortgage, the physician mortgage has more malleable underwriting guidelines.

Generally speaking, most doctor mortgages will allow you to: 

Gary Fegan, Disability Insurance Specialist, DisabilityQuotes.com

Are you a physician looking for disability insurance? If so, are you confused yet? If you have done any research you probably are.

How do you know which company to work with? How long of a waiting and benefit period should you choose? What riders do and don’t you need? How much is this going to cost me? These are all things to consider, but with all of the companies out there, it can be a little stressful. I will help make the decision as simple for you as possible.

What are the main points to look at when picking a policy? 

Two physicians I am working with are leaving their employment with a large group, dissatisfied with the back office operations and billing situation. Years ago they had their own practice and did everything in-house. Now, three years later they want to recreate the practice of their past.

These docs are experienced and operated a successful private practice in another market before coming my way. After a lot of discussion it’s apparent they are not only strong clinicians who know what kind of support they need from their clinical staff, but also have the characteristics of good leaders who know how to motivate a small staff and engender a healthy “family business” type environment for their employees.

We’ve found them a great IPA to work with, one that provides good in-network rates and a slew of value added services and vendor connections to help make their return to private practice successful. In fact, we’ve only got one real issue to deal with.

Billing. What did you expect?