For medical professionals
Income protection for doctors
A medical income climbs steeply and rests on your ability to practise. Income protection replaces most of that income if illness or injury stops you working.
Own-occupation wording. Cover that scales with your income. No jargon.
Your ability to practise is the asset we protect first.
For most doctors, the ability to practise is worth more than everything it has funded. That is what cover should protect first.
The doctor’s risk
Your income and your ability to practise are the asset
Income protection replaces a large part of your income, usually up to about 70%, if illness or injury stops you working. For a doctor, that income climbs steeply over a career and rests on your capacity to practise and your registration. Income protection is what keeps the household and your commitments running while you recover.
Why cover has to scale
Your income climbs. Default cover does not.
A medical income rises steeply from registrar to consultant, but the cover attached to super is sized for an average earner and stays flat. The gap is what a tailored policy is there to fill.
Why doctors need cover
What a medical career changes
A medical income is both high and specific. It depends on your ability to perform your role and to hold current registration. Income protection is built for that gap: it pays a monthly benefit while you cannot work in your occupation, so a temporary loss of capacity does not become a financial crisis.
The risks that are specific to medicine
- Procedural skillFor surgeons, anaesthetists and proceduralists, fine motor function and eyesight are the tools of the trade.
- Stamina and long shiftsLong hours, on-call rosters and the physical load of clinical work are career risks, not just fatigue.
- An active registrationMedicine cannot be practised without current registration, so a health event that affects it affects your income.
- A high-pressure roleMedicine is demanding, which is why cover that recognises mental as well as physical conditions matters.
1 in 5
income protection claims relate to mental ill health
Medicine is high-pressure and demanding. Cover that recognises psychological as well as physical conditions is worth confirming, because mental ill health is behind a large share of claims across the industry.
Source: Council of Australian Life Insurers
How it works
Waiting and benefit periods
Income protection pays a monthly benefit, generally up to around 70% of your income, when you cannot work because of illness or injury. Two settings shape almost everything: the waiting period before payments start, and the benefit period they continue for. Because a medical income keeps rising, the amount you insure and the benefit period are genuine decisions.
The definition that decides a claim
Own-occupation versus any-occupation
A proceduralist who loses fine hand function might be unable to operate but still able to consult. The occupation definition is what decides whether cover responds, which is why the wording, not the premium, is usually the more important thing to check.
Own occupation
Built around your specialty
- How a claim is assessed
- Against your own specialty
- If you can no longer do your specialty
- Cover can respond
- What it means for you
- Your specialty is protected
Any occupation
Assessed against any suitable job
- How a claim is assessed
- Against any job you are suited to
- If you can no longer do your specialty
- May not respond if other work is possible
- What it means for you
- The definition can decide the outcome
Where cover sits
Inside or outside superannuation
Income protection can be held inside super or through a personal policy, and the two are not the same. A personal policy outside super typically offers longer benefit periods and more complete definitions, at a cost you can see and manage directly. What suits you depends on your circumstances.
How the two differ
- Benefit period is often cappedIncome protection inside super is commonly limited to two years, well short of a medical career.
- Stronger definitions sit outsideOwn-occupation cover is generally not available inside super.
- Often used togetherMany doctors keep some default cover in super and top it up with a personal policy so the two complement each other.
What it costs
There is no single price
Premiums depend on the levers below. Doctors sit in favourable occupation categories, which helps on price, but the wording that decides whether a claim pays is what deserves the attention. The Australian Government’s Moneysmart has a plain-English overview of how income protection is priced.
What shapes your premium
- Age and incomeThe amount of income you are insuring, and your age when cover starts.
- Waiting and benefit periodsA longer wait or a shorter benefit period lowers the premium.
- Stepped or level premiumsHow the premium is structured over the life of the policy.
- Specialty and healthYour specialty, medical history and any loadings for clinical risk.
You send patients to a specialist for a reason. Your own cover deserves the same.
Moshe Chaiton, Director & Principal Adviser
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Do doctors really need income protection if they have cover in super?
Default cover inside super is usually sized for an average earner and capped at a two-year benefit period, so it often falls short of a medical income. Many doctors keep the super cover and top it up with a personal policy. Whether you need to depends on your circumstances.
Is income protection tax deductible for doctors?
Premiums for income protection held outside super are generally tax deductible, because the benefit is treated as replacement income. Cover held inside super is treated differently. Tax depends on your situation, so confirm the treatment with your accountant.
What is own-occupation cover for a doctor?
Own-occupation cover assesses a claim against your own specialty rather than any job you could do. For proceduralists in particular, this is the difference between a payout and a denial if you can no longer perform your specialty but could do other work.
Can locums and registrars get income protection?
Yes. Cover can be arranged for registrars, locums and self-employed doctors, though how income is assessed and evidenced differs from a salaried role. This is one of the areas where advice is worth getting right from the start.
How much income protection should a doctor have?
Enough to replace the income your commitments are built around, up to the insurer's limits, with a waiting and benefit period matched to your situation. Because a medical income rises over time, it is worth reviewing as your circumstances change.
Related cover
The cover doctors arrange alongside
For medical professionals
Protect the income your training built
A no-obligation chat with an adviser who compares the market, reads the own-occupation definitions, and sets the waiting and benefit periods around a medical career. No separate advice fee for our advice.