According to a press release today, one of the largest disability insurance companies has expanded its definition of own occupation disability insurance for physicians. According to the disability insurance press release: “A leading disability insurance company has made significant upgrades in occupation definitions for ALL physicians and for numerous executive and other professional occupations. Because of these changes, this company’s industry – leading disability insurance portfolio will become even more competitive, thanks to these sweeping improvements.How dramatic are these changes?Physicians who in the past could get only a 5 year true own occupation definition of disability will now be able to obtain a true own occupation definition to age 65. This includes all surgeons, emergency room doctors, anesthesiologists and any physician with invasive duties. Oral surgeons will also now have this available which means any and all dentists will be able to have a true own occupation definition.Many physicians with no invasive duties will now be able to receive up to a 20 percent decrease in premium.”

The MotleyFool.com commented today on disability insurance as part of an article entitled, “A Halfway Point Check up.” In case you weren’t aware of it, the Motley Fool is an extensive financial site. I’ve seen a lot of articles over the past few years on that site and many others where, as most financial experts and commentators have stated, there is a strong recommendation for disability insurance as an integral and vital part of a financial plan. Here’s an excerpt from the article: “. . .what if you’re not so lucky next year, and you can’t work and earn a living? Not only do we need life insurance but disability insurance can also offset any loss of earning power if we foolishly — or even not-so-foolishly — end up crippled or disabled and without a means to support ourselves or our families.” You can read up on disability insurance at the protectyourincome.com site.

Here’s another article on why you should have disability insurance. As stated in the article: We buy homeowner’s insurance in case the roof caves in, and collision insurance in case the car gets banged up. But the money machine that pays for these things often goes uninsured, or under-insured. That money machine is your ability to earn income, and if you are injured, become ill or disabled and are unable to work, the money machine will stop producing cash. How, and for how much, you insure yourself depends on your earning power, your dependents and other insurance coverage you may have through your employer. But most people don’t understand the details of their group insurance plan. They may not realize until it’s too late that the plan falls short of their specific needs. “A group policy is tailored to the average person, and it may not be adequate to meet your particular need.” For individual disability insurance policy information and quotes, check out protectyourincome.com.