Percent More or Less than Average Premium
Male: -0.79%
Female: 2.83%
Policy Options from All of the Big Five Companies:
Yes
Unisex Policies Offered
No
*The information on this page is accurate as of the date this page was created, September 2021. Policies and discounts vary by individual circumstances. For information on your specific options, please consult with one of our advisors.
Located in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States is Louisiana, a state with thousands of miles of land and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. In total, Louisiana covers slightly more than 52,000 square miles and has a state population of 4.65 million residents.
With 7,864 physicians actively practicing medicine in Louisiana, the patient-to-doctor ratio stands at approximately 592 patients per 1 doctor. Louisiana physicians practice in a variety of specialties including:
Surgery: 821
Emergency medicine: 798
Psychiatry: 655
Anesthesiologists: 628
Radiology: 616
Cardiology: 449
Oncology: 264
Endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism: 101
All other specialties: 3,532
For the past several years, Louisiana has frequently ranked low among the US for health and development, making it one of the least healthy states in the country. In Louisiana, there are at least 351 different healthcare facilities which include critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, federally-qualified health centers, and short-term/PPS hospitals.
With a state that is often ranked low for health, the value of physician care has never been more important for residents in Louisiana. This may equate to better job security for physicians, but without comprehensive disability insurance, physicians won’t have the optimal financial security they deserve.
What does it mean when we say doctors need comprehensive disability insurance? For physicians, the best kind of disability insurance is true own-occupation, which we better explain in Chapter 2 of our Guide to Disability Insurance, true own-occupation pays your full disability insurance benefit if you can’t perform your specialty, but can still be employed elsewhere.
For example, if you’re a neuropsychiatrist who becomes disabled and can’t perform your specific duties, but decide to become a professor of psychiatry. You will be paid your full disability insurance benefit, while still collecting your income as a professor.
We know how busy a physician’s life is between work, family, and whatever else they can fit on their plate. Finding the time to research and settle on a comprehensive disability insurance policy is tough for every full-time physician.
You could easily just go to your employer and sign up for their disability insurance plan. But we highly recommend against it because of four important factors:
Employer policies are NOT true own-occupation: in fact, employers usually only offer the lowest of low disability insurance definitions—any occupation. This means regardless of the severity of your disability, you won’t be able to work anywhere.
Employer policies are taxable: not only will you be unable to work anywhere else, but any insurance benefits you collect will also be taxed and thus leaving you with considerably less take-home income.
Employer policies are non-transferable: think again if you decide to move on from your employer and want to bring your disability insurance policy with you. Any money you’ve paid into your employer’s disability insurance policy will go down the drain.
Employers can cancel or change your policy at any time: as the owners of your disability insurance policy, your employer can decide to cancel or modify your disability insurance policy. This means they can change how much you pay and lower your benefit amount at any time.
Instead of saving time by signing up for employer-driven disability insurance, you should work with the experts at Pattern instead. At Pattern, our goal is to provide you with the resources and expertise needed both to fully understand physician disability insurance, but also to find the best policy for you. As an independent agency, we don’t have any affiliation to any of the Big Five Companies and are only looking out for your best interests.
When you work with Pattern, we work with you to complete 3 simple steps:
Request your quotes: you fill out a quote request form, and we submit it to each of the Big Five Companies
Compare your options: you review and compare your five quotes. Your Pattern support team will be there to guide you through the policies, answer your questions, provide examples, and make sure you have a clear understanding of each policy.
Apply and buy: after you’ve made a decision, we will help you complete and submit a short application. From there, we will handle the insurance paperwork and get your income insured.