Ameritas Disability Insurance for Physicians (Updated 2025)

As a physician, you’ve dedicated countless hours and significant financial resources to building your career. That’s why protecting your income with disability insurance is one of the smartest decisions you can make. Physician disability insurance serves as a safety net, ensuring financial stability if you’re ever unable to work due to illness or injury.

Ameritas has built a solid reputation as a dependable option for medical professionals. With a strong financial strength rating and a proven track record of paying claims, it’s easy to see why many physicians turn to them for disability insurance. If you’re in the market for coverage, Ameritas offers policies that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of doctors. In this review, we’ll break down what Ameritas Disability Insurance has to offer, covering the pros, the cons, and why it might just be a great fit for medical professionals.

About Ameritas

Founded in 1887 as the Old Line Bankers Life Insurance Company of Nebraska, Ameritas has grown into a trusted name in the insurance and financial services industry. They are now located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and they serve more than 5.7 million customers across the United States.

Ameritas Life Insurance is a key part of their offerings, along with many other financial products. Their focus on financial strength and putting customers first has helped them provide great value and develop long-term relationships for over a hundred years.

The Foundation of Ameritas

One key to Ameritas’ success is its ‘DInamic Foundation.’ This shows its strong financial health and focus on customers. The foundation is based on the belief that being financially strong is important for keeping promises to policyholders.

Ameritas pays a lot of attention to risk management. It gets high ratings from independent agencies for its financial stability. This means the company can keep its promises. Policyholders can feel confident and secure.

Additionally, Ameritas puts customers first. This is shown in its excellent customer service, clear policies, and ethical business practices. This focus on customers is at the center of its ‘DInamic Foundation.’ It ensures a good and trustworthy experience for policyholders.

Ameritas’ Commitment to Physicians

Ameritas recognizes the unique challenges that medical professionals face, particularly when it comes to the risk of disability. They understand how critical a physician’s ability to earn income is, which is why their policies are specifically designed to provide strong financial protection and support for doctors.

A main feature of Ameritas disability insurance is its special definition of disability for doctors. This “own-occupation” definition means that benefits will be paid even if the doctor can work in a different job. This is true as long as they cannot do the tasks related to their own specialty.

Ameritas stands out because they focus on the unique needs of physicians. This gives medical professionals the confidence and security they need to take care of their patients and their work.

Ameritas Disability Insurance Overview

Ameritas is a mutual insurance company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is considered one of the “Big 5” carriers that offer medical professionals a true disability insurance policy that protects their ability to work in a specific medical specialty.

The Ameritas disability insurance policy, DInamic Foundation, is issued by American Life Insurance Corporation in 49 states. In the state of New York, the policy is issued by American Life Insurance Corporation of New York. What’s great about Ameritas is they offer the preferred definition of total disability through their own-occupation rider. This means they allow physicians and dentists to continue to collect the full benefit if they become disabled but could still work in another occupation. Let’s dive into more details about Ameritas disability insurance.

Core Features of the Policies

Ameritas cares about the financial safety of doctors. This is clear in how its insurance policies
are set up. One key part is the “own-occupation” definition of disability. This is important for medical professionals who want better coverage.

With the own-occupation provision, policyholders can get full benefits. This is true even if they can work in a different job. As long as their disability stops them from doing their specific medical specialty, they are covered. This means doctors are not punished for exploring other career options when they can’t work in medicine.

Also, Ameritas offers non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable policies. This means that once the policy starts, Ameritas cannot cancel it or raise premiums if payments are made on time. This gives physicians long-term peace of mind and financial security. They know their disability insurance is safe no matter what happens in the future.

Unique Selling Propositions for Physicians

Ameritas knows that the needs of doctors are different from other jobs. That’s why their physician disability insurance is made to fit those needs. Their Dinamic Cornerstone Income Protection is a strong choice. It offers many benefits that help give financial security and peace of mind.

What makes Ameritas special is that they understand a doctor’s most important asset is their ability to earn money. Their policies aim to replace a big part of that income if a disability stops them from doing their job. This way, doctors can stay financially stable and pay essential bills.

Also, Ameritas has many riders that let doctors get more personal with their coverage. This ability to customize repairs allows policyholders to adjust their Dinamic Cornerstone Income Protection to fit their lives and financial goals. That makes sure they protect their most important asset: their ability to earn money.

Ameritas Physician Disability Insurance Highlights

Choosing the right disability insurance can be complicated. That’s why it’s important to understand the main features of Ameritas’ offerings. The base policy gives you an excellent start for coverage. You can also customize your plan by adding different riders that match your specific needs and budget.

Policyholders have the option to set their desired base monthly benefit. This will decide how much money you receive if you become disabled. The maximum benefit period is flexible too. You can choose how long you will get payments, up to the age of 70.

Own-Occupation

A key feature for Ameritas is its strong “own-occupation” definition of disability. This is very important for doctors. It makes sure they get total benefits even if they can do another job. They must only be unable to perform their specialized medical practice due to their disability.

For example, a surgeon who cannot do surgeries because of a hand injury still gets full benefits. This is true even if they can work as a medical consultant or in another area of medicine. This offers strong financial security compared to policies with weaker definitions of disability.

However, it’s good to know that for some job types, Ameritas’ own-occupation definition might only be good for five years. After that time, you must not be able to work in any job to be seen as totally disabled.

Non-Cancellable & Guaranteed Renewable

Ameritas Disability Insurance for Physicians gives you policies that cannot be changed or canceled. This means you can trust this coverage when you really need it. As long as you keep paying your premiums, your policy stays the same. This brings peace of mind to doctors, who need reliable protection. With fewer worries about unexpected changes, physicians can focus on their important work. Consider Ameritas for your disability insurance needs; it’s a solid choice.

Benefit Period

When choosing a disability insurance policy, think carefully about the benefit period. This period is important because it tells you how long you will get income protection if you become disabled. It can affect your financial security during tough times.

Ameritas has different benefit period choices for you. You can choose coverage that lasts until you are 70 years old. This means if you become disabled while covered, you will get benefits until age 70. This provides you with long-term financial help.

When picking the right benefit period, look at your personal situation and how a disability could impact you. Things like your age, bills, and savings are important for making your choice. This will help you have enough coverage to keep your lifestyle and meet your financial needs.

Pre-Disability Earnings

Understanding how disability income insurance works is important. With Ameritas, your pre-disability earnings are key to figuring out how much money you can get each month if you become disabled. The company looks at your average monthly earnings from the year before and the two years before your disability. They use the higher amount to calculate your benefits.

This method makes sure that your income insurance accurately reflects your financial situation before a disabling event. It gives you better and fairer coverage. By checking both the 12-month and 24-month averages, Ameritas considers changes in your income. This way, they can assess your pre-disability earnings more fairly.

It highlights how important it is to understand the policy’s details and how your pre-disability income matters. To find the best policy, it’s a good idea to talk about your personal situation and income history with an insurance expert – They can help you find the best coverage amount for your needs.

Mental Disorders

Does the policy pay benefits for mental disorders? In the case of Ameritas, the answer is yes. The company has a two-year limitation on coverage for mental disorders/substance abuse.

Ameritas Physician Disability Insurance Riders

Like many insurance providers, Ameritas has different optional riders. These riders help you customize your disability policies. They give you extra coverage options designed for your specific needs. This way, you can build greater protection beyond the basic policy.

Adding these riders can make your disability insurance stronger. It makes sure you have enough coverage for surprise events. This can help lessen financial stress during tough times. It’s a good idea to talk with an insurance expert. They can help you find which riders fit your individual needs the best.

Cost-of-living Adjustment (COLA) Rider

A COLA rider ensures that your benefits will keep up with inflation. The rider will adjust your policy’s monthly benefit on an annual basis, based on a fixed percentage or tied to the consumer price index. Ameritas offers two cost-of-living adjustment riders:

1. The first one determines the cost of living benefit by multiplying the monthly income benefit by 3% for each year you are disabled
2. The second COLA rider uses an index ratio based on the consumer price index. The index ratio will be the lesser of:
   • The current index divided by the initial index
   • 1 + 6%, compounded annually

This ratio will never be less than 1 and your adjusted monthly benefit is equal to the index ratio multiplied by your contractual monthly benefit.

Residual Disability Rider

Disability insurance policies pay benefits if you’re unable to work (total disability) or if you can partially work (residual disability). If you still want to receive benefits even though you can partially work, you should purchase residual disability insurance rider. Ameritas has two residual disability riders:

Basic

• A 15% or more decline in earnings; AND
• Either you are unable to perform all of the “material and substantial duties of your occupation, or you are unable to work in your occupation at least 80% of the time prior to your disability
• You’ll be paid 50% of your base monthly benefit for total disability…
• Or your loss of earnings / prior monthly earnings x base monthly benefit.

Enhanced

• The only difference with Ameritas’ enhanced rider is that if your loss of monthly earnings is more than 75%, you will be considered totally disabled and paid 100% of your policy’s benefit amount
• Also, if you’ve returned to work but your income is at least 15% of your pre-disability earnings, you will be paid a recovery benefit.

Future Increase Option Rider

Planning for the future is very important – especially for protecting the income that comes from your years of training. Ameritas knows this and offers the Future Increase Option Rider. This rider helps you boost your coverage as your income increases and your financial future changes.

With this rider, you can raise your maximum benefit amount at certain times without needing to prove your health, though there are some limits. This allows you to adjust your coverage as your income grows, keeping you protected even if your health changes.

You can usually use the Future Increase Option once a year until you reach a certain age, which is often 40 or 55, based on your policy’s terms. Each time you increase your benefit, there may be an extra premium to pay for the improved coverage and possible payout.

Automatic Increase Rider

Staying ahead of inflation and keeping your disability coverage enough over time can be hard. Ameritas makes this easier with its Automatic Increase Rider. This feature lets your base benefit go up automatically without needing extra medical checks.

This rider raises your monthly benefit amount by a set percentage at certain times, usually every year, for a certain number of years. These yearly increments help fight inflation, so your coverage stays valuable and your benefits stay useful as costs rise.

The automatic increase rider provides convenience and peace of mind. It protects your financial future without needing you to ask for benefit increases. It’s a great choice for doctors who want to keep the buying power of their disability coverage without having to redo evaluations or checks.

Catastrophic Disability Rider

A serious disability can change your life greatly, leading to unexpected medical expenses and need for long-term care. Ameritas offers the Catastrophic Disability Rider. This rider gives you extra financial help if you face a serious disability that makes daily activities hard.
This rider usually pays benefits if you cannot do two or more activities of daily living (ADLs). These activities include bathing, dressing, eating, or using the restroom by yourself. If this happens, the rider provides a payment in addition to your regular disability benefit. This extra money can help pay for costs like home healthcare, changes to your home for accessibility, or
special medical equipment.

The catastrophic disability rider is like a safety net within another safety net. It gives important financial support during tough times. Ameritas wants to help its policyholders deeply by providing benefits designed for people facing serious disabilities.

Key Takeaways

Ameritas Disability Insurance for physicians offers a comprehensive disability insurance policy with flexible policy options and riders. It’s a solid choice for physicians looking for a reliable and flexible disability insurance policy. That said, it’s crucial to think about your unique needs and circumstances before committing to a policy. This is why working with an expert in physician disability insurance can make all the difference. Always compare different insurance providers and policies to find the one that best suits your needs. To compare your options with an insurance expert, request your free quotes from LeverageRx today.