Physician's Edition: Modified Own Occupation vs. True Own Occupation

In this episode, Scott and I explain one of the definitions of disability, often found in group contracts at work. When you see a contract at work that states it is Own Occupation but is free to you, that is a good indication that there are some rules behind the scenes that modify the payouts if you are disabled and working in any other job.

Often, physicians and other medical professionals are automatically given these contracts for free through the employer OR they buy these plans; either because they want to supplement the free one or there isn't a free one. 

Our Group vs. Private Contract video is here:  https://youtu.be/7enAnIXXJxg

If you want a disability insurance review, please print our FREE CHECKLIST, then schedule a time to discuss your plan here: https://www.mddisabilityquotes.com/schedule-a-meeting

Transcript

NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by a free AI transcription tool called Otter. Please forgive any typos or errors.

0:03 
Hello, in today's physician edition episode, we are discussing the modified own occupation contract, this contract tends to have a lot of hidden restrictions and can offset your insurance benefits if you're disabled and working, please enjoy

0:19 
the modified own occupation definition. This one tends to lead with that this definition leads with own occupation. However, depending upon the contract, and the way it reads, This one can change and vary depending upon the carrier. Would you agree with that?

0:36 
Absolutely. Because you have to be careful of some secondary clauses. And

0:41 
often the most common one I have seen most recently, I mean, it's not common, but when I do see it, I might see it lead with a 24-month clause. So then after 24 months of being paid on Own Occupation, having the ability to work in any other job after the 24 months has been met, then if you are working, the benefits will shut off.

1:05 
Well, they certainly can, there's typically a clause in there, which allows the insurance going to make some modifications, and it says, After 24 months on the client, full benefits can be suspended. If you are unwilling to do any job for which you're reasonably educated, trained. And in my opinion, the biggest word of the contract, or experienced, and the reason why that is so big is not inclusive, it's exclusive. If you had the word and in there, they could be telling you to go be a school teacher, you say, Well, I'm educated enough, but I'm not trained. But if they have the word or now that's a viable occupation.

1:45 
So after 24-months of being on disability, if you have other opportunities, and you choose not to work in those opportunities, do they have the right to then turn off benefits

1:54 
they do? And often they will turn them off. Often they'll say, Well, we are going to assume that you would have taken that job as soon as you have had that income. And so now he's reduced benefits proportionate to that,

2:06 
okay. So on occupation, without any of those extra caveats is certainly what we want.

2:12 
This is the cleanest especially for anybody that is not primary care. So anybody that's a sub-specialist. If you end up with an injury to an index finger and are unable to do surgery, don't have the ability to have the stamina, or the capacity of Stan for a long period of time. It can be an issue.

2:36 
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the amber Stitt show physicians edition. For more information about this podcast, books, articles, and more, please visit me at Amber stitt.com. For more information about physician insurance contracts, please listen to the entire physician edition podcast series or visit us at MD disability quotes.com. Thank you for listening

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Thank you again for joining Scott and I, in this episode of The Physician's Edition. We will see you next time, podcasters!