Should graduating Nurse Practioners and Physician Assistants purchase disability insurance prior to graduation?

Graduating Physician Assistants and Nurse Practioners in their first year of practice may purchase up to $2000/month of individual disability insurance regardless of income or group disability insurance in force at DISCOUNTED RATES.

What to look for in a disability policy for NPs and PAs:

• Specialty specific language. Also known as “own occupation” or “regular occupation” (depending on the company). This means the policy will pay you benefits if you cannot work in your medical specialty, even if you can work in another specialty or occupation.
• Non cancelable, guaranteed renewable .This means that once you have your policy, the company can never raise your rates or modify your policy. Most association plans do not have this feature, leaving the premiums precarious to large premium increases in the future.
• Increase Options. This will allow you to increase your benefits in the future without any medical questions.

There are several advantages for NPs and PAs to purchase a policy prior to graduation:

• No financial requirements. Once residency is complete, NPs and PAs must prove income with financial documentation and the benefit amount is limited to income and any group disability benefits are in force. This may reduce the amount of available benefit.
• *Discounts. If you are working for a hospital that has an available discount, you may lock in your discount prior to graduation and carry it with you throughout your career.

*Discounts are available through Set for Life Insurance from multiple companies. To receive the Set for Life Insurance discounted rates, applications need to be submitted through Set for Life Insurance prior to graduation.

These include (but are not limited to):

If your program is not listed, please contact Set for Life to learn about setting up a discount at your program.

For more information about NP and PA disability insurance or to request a quote comparison, contact the Set for Life Insurance office today!