Hand Insurance for Surgeons: Why You Don’t Need It and What to Buy Instead

As a surgeon, your hands are likely your livelihood. After all, if you can’t perform surgery, how do you continue making money? Leading to your career, you might’ve also amassed student loans from medical school and other training that you need to repay. That said, getting insurance coverage for your hands might seem like a good idea.

But is hand insurance really worth it? Or does it make sense to just rely on a disability insurance plan to make sure you’re taken care of? Let’s take a look at hand insurance so you can decide if it’s right for you.

Is hand insurance real?

Yes, you can insure body parts. In fact, you can almost always find an insurance company willing to insure different parts of your body. However, this type of insurance is more for celebrities and less common for healthcare professionals.

For example, Keith Richards, a member of the Rolling Stones, insured his hands for $1.6 million. After all, if he couldn’t play the guitar, his livelihood would be destroyed. Likewise, Yardbirds member Jeff Beck insured each of his fingers for $1 million.

Other body parts that celebrities have insured include legs (Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey), butts (Jennifer Lopez) and breasts (Dolly Parton).

Do surgeons need hand insurance?

For the most part, surgeons don’t need hand insurance. This is a niche market, and premiums can be high. Plus, when you get hand insurance, the only part of your body it insures is your hands. It won’t even cover your wrists or arms — even though an injury to those body parts could impact your ability to use your hands.

It might be useful if you need hand surgery or something happens to your hands, but if you have another illness or injury that affects your ability to work that isn’t hand-related, you’re out of luck. As a highly-paid healthcare professional, you can’t afford to have just one small body part covered.

Instead, consider other types of health insurance or disability insurance to help cover costs if you’re unable to perform your job as a surgeon.

What you need instead: Disability insurance

Instead of getting hand insurance, it can make more sense to pay for a disability policy with a monthly benefit in the event you can’t work for a period of time. Disability benefits are likely to be more useful to you than hand insurance.

Medical professionals of all types can benefit from disability insurance to protect their income in the event of an illness or injury that makes it difficult to provide patient care and earn a living.

What it covers

In general, disability insurance covers your whole body. You're covered if something happens to your trigger finger, and you can’t perform surgical procedures. You’re also covered if an illness results in a long-term disability that doesn’t allow you to work in the operating room — even if nothing has happened to your hands.

Be careful about the type of disability insurance policy you get, however, since there are different waiting periods, definitions of disability and disclaimers.

What it doesn’t

Some things might not be covered by disability insurance, so it’s important to check your coverage. If you don’t get the right coverage for your medical specialty or get comprehensive disability coverage, you might not have the amount of coverage you need if you become unable to work. 

Additionally, disability insurance might not cover certain conditions, such as mental health or provide disability income past a certain benefit period or until you meet certain deductibles.

What to look for in a disability insurance policy

Even if disability insurance doesn’t cover everything, it can still be worth getting, especially since your insurance premium will likely be lower with disability insurance than hand insurance. 

As you compare disability insurance policies, review disclosures and other information. Below are some important items to consider as you compare insurance providers.

Own occupation

First, make sure you get own-occupation disability insurance. Pay attention to the occupation definition. This is because some insurance policies only cover you if you can’t work at all. 

If you can work in another job, you might not receive benefits. With true own-occupation disability, you receive monthly income benefits — usually up to 60% of your income — if you can’t work as a surgeon. This means you can get support during the benefit period even though you could potentially work another job.

Riders

There are also optional riders you can consider, depending on your situation and where you’re at in your career. Some common riders that can make sense include:

• Future increase. Allows you to purchase additional insurance later as your income increases.
• Cost of living adjustment. Your benefits increase as the cost of living does, so inflation isn’t reducing the value of your disability income.
• Partial disability: If you’re partially disabled and can only work limited hours, this coverage will provide partial benefits to help support you through your period of reduced work.
• Mental health. Limited time benefits if you’re unable to do your job as a surgeon due to substance abuse, depression or other mental illness.

Cost

Pay attention to the insurance premiums. Getting the cheapest disability coverage isn’t always the best choice, especially for a surgeon who might have higher expenses as a result of income and lifestyle. However, price is always a consideration. Do your best to balance the cost of the policy with your needs.

Financial stability and reputation of the company

Finally, make sure you’re dealing with a reputable disability insurance company. You can check out information on getting disability insurance for surgeons to compare companies. Check their ratings with A.M. Best, which ranks financial stability for insurers and can help you determine how likely the company might be around to pay out benefits if you need them.

Hand insurance vs. disability insurance

When comparing hand vs. disability insurance, each option has its pros and cons.

Pros of hand insurance

• Protects your livelihood due to hand injury.
• Covers the loss of a finger, including your trigger finger or another finger.
• Protects you financially if you can’t use your hand for surgery due to arthritis or nerve damage.

Cons of hand insurance

• Might have a long waiting period, during which time you can’t work but aren’t receiving benefits.
• Coverage is limited to your hands, so any other injury that keeps you from working won’t result in financial protection.
• High insurance premiums are often more expensive than a more comprehensive disability policy.

Pros of disability insurance

• Full body policy offering income benefits when you can’t work, regardless of the injured body part.
• Choose a waiting period that makes sense for your situation and includes the ability to begin receiving income within a couple of months.
• True own-occupation coverage covers you if you can’t work as a surgeon, even if you could work in another job.

Cons of disability insurance

• You need to understand disclaimers and disclosures to ensure you’re getting the right coverage and avoid surprises later.
• It can be difficult to get the right policy when you shop on your own.

How to get the best surgeon disability insurance

Research your options and compare policies and quotes from three to five insurance providers. You can also fill out the form below, and we can help you find a disability insurance policy that fits your needs and budget.