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Recommend Own Occ to Specialized Professionals
December 16, 2020
Highly specialized professionals, such as physicians, dentists and trial attorneys, can be at higher risk of an injury or illness impeding their ability to perform their specialized work. That’s why adding the Own Occupation Rider to Platinum Advantage’s already strong and comprehensive base policy is an important option. The Own Occupation Rider can provide protection for income earned in a specialty.
Total Disability Definition Is Key
The definition of total disability is the cornerstone of any income protection insurance policy. The Platinum Advantage policy’s base definition of total disability requires policyowners meet three criteria to receive benefits. They’ll receive full monthly benefits if, due to injury or sickness, they are:
- Unable to perform the substantial and material duties of their regular occupation
- Under the regular care of a physician appropriate for their injury or sickness
- Not engaged in any other job or occupation for wage or profit
If your clients become disabled, their current occupation(s) at the time of disability will be considered their regular occupation.
Own Occupation Rider Offers Future Flexibility
The Own Occupation Rider changes the policy's definition of total disability. It removes the last requirement — not engaged in any other job or occupation for wage or profit. With the Own Occupation Rider, your clients could work in another job or specialty and still be considered totally disabled — and may qualify for full monthly benefits. This rider is available to occupation classes 3A/3P/3D and higher.
Protection for Physicians, Dentists and Trial Attorneys
Both the policy’s base total disability definition and Own Occupation Rider include specialty language for physicians and dentists. Under the Regular Occupation definition, physicians and dentists are considered totally disabled if they've limited their practice to a single, recognized specialty and can't perform that specialty.
However, if they purchase the Own Occupation Rider, they may be able to work in another occupation or specialty and still collect benefits. The duties performed in the new occupation must be different from the duties performed in their regular occupation. The Own Occupation Rider extends specialty language to trial attorneys as well.
Why Own Occ Matters
With the Own Occupation Rider, your highly specialized clients may be able to collect total disability benefits if they’re unable to perform the duties of their regular occupation but choose to work in another job. Without this rider, they would have to choose between collecting a disability benefit or working.
Consider these examples of what may happen at claim time*:
| Client | Policy | Alternate Occ | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial attorney | Platinum Advantage with Own Occ Rider | In-house counsel | Continues to receive full monthly total disability benefits while earning income in another occupation |
| Hand surgeon | Platinum Advantage with Own Occ Rider | Adjunct professor at medical school | Continues to receive full monthly total disability benefits while earning income in another occupation |
| Anesthesiologist | Platinum Advantage; built-in Regular Occ definition of disability | Pain management | Received benefits under the Regular Occupation definition until returning to work in another occupation |
* Examples are based on Platinum Advantage coverage and benefits. They’re for illustration purposes only and may not reflect actual claim experiences.
Share the Platinum Advantage Consumer Brochure (use this in CT, DE, DC, FL, MT, NY, ND, SD) (use this in CA) to show your clients how Platinum Advantage and the Own Occupation Rider could work for them.
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