Disability Insurance for Vascular and Interventional Radiologists: 4 Options Explained

Becoming a vascular and interventional radiologist requires hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical school. Then, you must complete a diagnostic radiology residency, followed by a fellowship in interventional radiology. But in the end, you’re able to earn a sizable income while performing image-guided procedures geared toward minimizing risk, pain and recovery time for your patients.

Your professional focus is on mitigating medical risk. So, why not apply the same perspective to your financial plan? 

Disability insurance can protect against the risk of a long-term disabling injury or illness that could impact your radiology career. Keep reading to learn about disability insurance for radiologists, including how to specifically protect your interventional radiology specialty.

Disability insurance premium costs: Vascular and interventional radiologists

Let’s start with the big question: How much does disability insurance for radiologists cost? 

Disability premiums vary by insurance company and disability policy. But individual factors, such as age, gender, occupation and medical history, play a large part in determining your overall costs.

Here’s a sample quote comparing costs for female interventionalists versus males.

Interventional radiologist own-occupation disability insurance monthly cost
(Age 34, resident/fellow)

Company	Male	Female
Guardian	$181	$265
MassMutual	$175	$173
Principal	$163	$287
Ameritas	$137	$196
Standard	$174	$275

In this example, a female interventional radiology fellow could buy true own-occupation coverage with a $5,000 monthly benefit and future increase option for about $200 to $275 per month. However, her male colleague could find the same coverage for about $130 to $180 per month.

Note that women often incur higher premiums due to historical claims, but an experienced independent insurance broker — like SLP Insurance — can track down discounts to bring down your costs.

Related: Do Disability Insurance Brokers Charge a Fee? Understanding the Cost

Why do vascular and interventional radiologists need disability insurance?

Vascular and interventional radiologists perform and interpret a large variety of imaging tests and procedures. Your knowledge must span the entire human body, from blood vessel treatments to reproductive conditions to cancer solutions and more. So, it’s important to protect this specialized knowledge and training against the unknown with adequate disability insurance.

If you were to become ill or injured, your high income and all the things that go along with it (e.g. expensive house, cars, vacations, etc.) would be at stake. However, if you have long-term disability (LTD) insurance, you could collect disability income while you recover. In fact, you could potentially receive benefits for the remainder of your career, depending on your policy and the severity of your disability.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates that about 25% of today’s 20-year-olds will become disabled before traditional retirement age. And that’s based on very strict definitions of disability through the government.

In reality, there might be a higher chance of becoming disabled and being unable to work specifically as an interventional radiologist. This is why having a true own-occupation policy is necessary for interventionalists.

SLP Insurance compares own-occupation coverage options for your lifestyle and financial situation, including finding the best discounts available. Fill out the form below to get started, or keep reading to learn the ins and outs of own-occupation disability insurance for radiologists.

What should vascular and interventional radiologists disability insurance include?

Interventionalists shouldn’t solely rely on short-term disability insurance or employer-provided LTD group coverage. Your long-term earnings and career are too important to risk not being injured or sick enough to qualify with a strict definition of disability.

Instead, vascular and interventional radiologists should look for a policy that includes a true own-occupation definition of disability. But why is this?

A generic any-occupation policy will require you to prove that you aren’t able to work in any capacity, including outside of the medical profession. So, you’ll need to be totally disabled in order to file a claim.

Whereas, an own-occupation policy protects your medical specialty, not just your ability to work. Your disability insurance coverage is based on your ability to perform the substantial duties of a vascular and interventional radiologist. Therefore, you can choose to continue working in another field while still collecting monthly benefits due to your qualifying disability.

Apart from own-occupation coverage, here are some other policy decisions to be aware of:

• Benefit period and waiting period. These address how long you’ll receive benefits overall and how long you must wait until you begin receiving a payout.
• Future increase option. This is an important policy rider for radiology residents and fellows who haven’t reached their earning potential. It allows you to purchase more coverage as your salary increases in the future without undergoing a medical exam.
• Other optional policy riders. Depending on your risk tolerance and individual needs, you might benefit from partial disability or catastrophic disability benefits. Other optional riders might include student loan protection or a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Note that your disability premiums will adjust as you tailor your policy to fit your needs.

How often do vascular and interventional radiologists file disability insurance claims?

Disability insurance companies use claim histories to group people into risk classifications based on their age, gender, occupation, etc. Some companies will rate diagnostic radiologists in the same risk classification as interventionalists. But others consider it to be a more invasive specialty, resulting in a moderate-risk class.

Therefore, disability insurance might be more expensive for vascular and interventional radiologists than those who practice diagnostic radiology. But it won’t be as high as physicians who work in emergency medicine or those who perform complex invasive surgeries, such as orthopedic surgeons.

Related: Understanding Disability Insurance Occupation Classes: What You Need to Know

What kind of disability coverage is offered to radiologists?

Depending on where you work, you can find varying levels of disability coverage through your employer, professional organization, residency or fellowship.

Option 1: Employer-provided group policy coverage

Many hospitals and freestanding radiology clinics offer their employees no-cost disability coverage. However, these group plans usually have limited insurance benefits and narrow definitions of disability. Additionally, your benefits will be taxable income since your employer is covering the cost of your premiums.

Option 2: Membership with a professional association

Professional associations often partner with insurance companies to offer discounts on disability insurance and other financial products. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA) has a variety of options for coverage up to $15,000 per month.

Option 3: Individual disability insurance policy

An individual policy can provide the strongest protection for your interventional radiology specialty. Even if you already have group coverage, a supplemental policy can provide additional coverage to increase your monthly benefit. Plus, your payout will be tax-free since you’ll pay for your premiums with after-tax dollars.

Be sure to use an independent broker who’ll search the “Big 6” insurance companies. These are reliable companies who are responsible for underwriting the majority of true own-occupation policies.

Option 4: Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) policy

Diagnostic radiology residents and interventional radiology fellows might be eligible for a GSI policy through your individual program. For example, residency programs at UC Davis and Ochsner Health Center offer GSI policies.

A GSI policy guarantees coverage without medical underwriting, making it a solid option for anyone with a pre-existing medical condition. They can also make coverage more affordable for female interventionalists thanks to unisex pricing.

Let SLP Insurance compare GSI options and individual policy coverage to find you the best disability insurance at the best price. We have access to discounts that you won’t necessarily find with another insurance broker, and we’ll always guide you to the best deal — even if we don’t earn a commission from it.

How much disability insurance do vascular and interventional radiologists need?

Generally speaking, the maximum benefit available for most disability insurance policies is around 60% of your income. Using the average radiologist salary of $437,000 (from the 2022 Medscape Physician Compensation Report), you could be eligible for a maximum benefit of around $21,850 per month. But your benefit amount will ultimately depend on your actual income and whether you have existing coverage elsewhere.

In some cases, you might not need the maximum benefit. This means you could opt for a lower payout and, therefore, lower your monthly cost. But you might consider getting the maximum if you’re the sole provider or breadwinner of your household.

Why you need to review your radiologist disability insurance policy

Many radiologists rely on their group coverage or aren’t insured at all for a long-term injury or illness. This is a dangerous risk, given your high income and significant education investment. 

When evaluating long-term disability insurance, vascular and interventional radiologists should consider the following:

• A true own-occupation definition of disability will provide disability income if you aren’t able to perform the duties of your medical specialty. It also allows you to continue working and earning an income in a different field without penalizing you.
• Use your budget to determine how much coverage you need. Ideally, you want all of your fixed expenses to be covered, as well as a few extra thousand dollars a month for miscellaneous expenses.
• Female interventionalists will often encounter higher costs, so it’s important to shop around and use an independent broker to locate unisex discounts.
• GSI policies are usually the best route for radiologists with a pre-existing medical condition. But you might be disqualified if you apply for individual coverage with an inexperienced insurance agent.

Get a disability insurance quote for vascular and interventional radiologists

When it comes to disability insurance, the insurance agent absolutely matters. Some earn large commissions in exchange for working with only one or two companies, which doesn’t benefit you as the consumer. Additionally, with the wrong agent, you might limit your access to discounts and unbiased guidance when comparing policy options.

SLP Insurance works with radiologists across the country to provide custom quotes for true own-occupation disability insurance. We’ll hustle to find the best discounts available and walk you through policy decisions that match your lifestyle and risk tolerance. Complete the quote form below to get started!