DI for Physicians

RonRoberts

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I have had conversations with 2 physicians unrelated by group and specialty lately and DI has come up. I have sold them life insurance in the past and since I am not the "DI know all" I have a couple of questions for some of you DI experts. Both physicians have DI from Guardian and have had it since residency. They are not interested in changing unless they can obviously save money for better coverage. They also tell me that they are contacted at least twice a week from some insurance agent looking to move their DI and tell me that the ones they have met with always have the same approach...nothing unique or motivating.

Is Guardian always going to be the "go to" DI for physicians? If so, do those agents that don't represent Guardian just not approach the medical community?

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks.
 
RonRoberts said:
I have had conversations with 2 physicians unrelated by group and specialty lately and DI has come up. I have sold them life insurance in the past and since I am not the "DI know all" I have a couple of questions for some of you DI experts. Both physicians have DI from Guardian and have had it since residency. They are not interested in changing unless they can obviously save money for better coverage. They also tell me that they are contacted at least twice a week from some insurance agent looking to move their DI and tell me that the ones they have met with always have the same approach...nothing unique or motivating.

Is Guardian always going to be the "go to" DI for physicians? If so, do those agents that don't represent Guardian just not approach the medical community?

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks.

They have had the coverage since residency so same coverage for less is unlikely. The question is does it still provide all the coverage they need if not add to it. If it does tell them to save thier time and realize in DI you get what you pay for and it is cheaper when you are younger so to get a lower price they have to give something up like going from noncancelable to guaranteed renewalable. They are better of saving thier time and be glad they purchased good coverage early in thier career.
 
They have had the coverage since residency so same coverage for less is unlikely. The question is does it still provide all the coverage they need if not add to it. If it does tell them to save thier time and realize in DI you get what you pay for and it is cheaper when you are younger so to get a lower price they have to give something up like going from noncancelable to guaranteed renewalable. They are better of saving thier time and be glad they purchased good coverage early in thier career.

You are right, but a more specific question is guardian the primary contender in the di market for physicians?
 
They sure are - and have been for a long, long time.

Why do you suppose this is the case? Are they priced better than anyone else for the benefit.

Right now, I'm working with two Gynecologists, and am using The Standard for them...

Thanks for the info. I have The Standard in my portfolio but with just beginning to touch the surface of DI I am trying to determine the niches each carrier has. My carriers are:

Union Central - Ameritas
Humana SI group DI
Assurity
The Standard
Principal Life
 
Why do you suppose this is the case? Are they priced better than anyone else for the benefit.

If you are protecting a 400k+ income, why are you scrimping over 50-100/mo?

Guardian isn't necessarily the cheapest, but it has one of the best definitions of disability out there, plus good riders that go with it.
 
IT ISN'T PRICE! IT'S DEFINITION OF DISABILITY!

Gee, don't know if anybody heard that. You can find all sorts of inexpensive di coverage to replace a plan like guardian with and if something happens, hope your E&O is paid up.

Quality Disability is going to cost, because it's going to pay if needed. Frankly Guardian has one of the strongest definitions of disability in the market. Know why? It's short and sweet and to the point, and then it stops.

When you have a di policy whose definition of disability goes on for a paragraph or more, EVERYTHING beyond the first sentence reduces the probability that the carrier will pay.

Review their Guardian coverage, see if they have a GIO option, become the agent of record, convert some of their options, get paid, get the coverage they need and keep the quality they have.

I am not a shill for guardian, but when looking at Di to cover my son the doctor (and yes it feels really good to say that) Guardian had the best definition at the best price. It was FAR FROM Cheapest, but with disability insurance if you're just going by price, you're going to be in trouble down the road, both the insured and the agent. The words in a Di policy mean everything.
 
Guardian has the best DI coverage you can buy, and this is one of the few times selling insurance where you can truly say one company offers the best coverage in the industry. Their price can be higher than other companies depending on occupation class and riders, and their underwriting is pretty conservative, but nobody can argue that a different company offers better policy terms and definitions.

If those clients have had Guardian policies since residency, the chances of you making a suitable replacement are approximately zero, but you can still try to become the agent of record and help them exercise their Future Increase Options, which you can get paid full commission on.
 
If you are protecting a 400k+ income, why are you scrimping over 50-100/mo?

Guardian isn't necessarily the cheapest, but it has one of the best definitions of disability out there, plus good riders that go with it.

I never was scrimping, nor were the doctors. We never talked about replacing or adding...yet! I was merely introducing a thread for discussion. I also was never planning on replacing the products. Glad to know about the definition. I will research this some more. I thought this would be a good topic for those of us interested in DI, and I found it interesting that two doctors from two different groups had Guardian. Has to be a reason.
 
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