Take the Case of…Dr. T.
Dr. T. is a 47-year-old board-certified cosmetic surgeon with a successful Beverly Hills, California practice. He specializes in rhinoplasty and facial reconstruction. His annual income was $2,200,000 which allowed for a very extravagant lifestyle – even for Los Angeles standards. He was a superstar of plastic surgery.
Fresh out of medical residency, Dr. T. picked-up a modest individual disability insurance policy of $10,000 per month. After a few years in private practice and savvy to the financial pressures and risks involved with running a successful business, the doctor later purchased an additional $20,000 of monthly coverage from a different U.S. disability carrier. But as his practice flourished and his income rose, he found that his two layers of personal DI coverage were simply not at all sufficient.
From his early days in medical school up to the present, he heard horror stories of colleagues losing their ability to work in their medical specialties, unable to generate previously enjoyed income levels. He realized he needed more income protection.
Petersen International was able to work with his insurance advisor and provide Dr. T. with an additional layer of $50,000 per month of specialty-specific, “own occupation” disability insurance with a 60-month benefit period followed by a permanent disability benefit of $5,000,000. His Petersen policy also provided a residual disability rider in case of a drop in income due to a nagging partial disablement.
In the seventh year of coverage, Dr. T. suffered tendon and nerve damage in his dominant hand after a kitchen-related injury at home. He immediately went on claim for total disablement after a three month elimination period and received the full monthly benefits of his various disability policies. The policy proceeds allowed him to maintain his household and cover much of the medical expenses not covered by his health insurance, including many hours of rehabilitation. He has been on the mend for a couple of years now and is back working, but at a diminished capacity. Luckily Dr. T. still enjoys the continued financial support of a residual disability benefit from his Petersen International insurance policy.