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Insurance for New Dental School Graduates

Learn more about the types of insurance you should consider based on your post-graduation plans.

A LOOK AT INSURANCE OPTIONS THAT HELP PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR PRACTICE AS YOU EMBARK ON YOUR DENTAL CAREER.

Congratulations — you’ve made it through dental school! Now it’s time to start planning for the rest of your life. Regardless of your career path in dentistry, it’s important to consider the protection of disability, life and supplemental medical insurance. Here’s an overview of the types of insurance you should consider based on your post-graduation plans.

The Insurance Everyone Needs to Consider

Disability income protection insurance can help replace your income if you become disabled and can no longer practice your specialized area of dentistry. Look for a true “own occupation” policy, which means that if you are disabled from your specialized area of dental practice, you can still receive benefits even if you are able to work in another area of dentistry, or in another field.

Life insurance is essential, especially if you have a family or plan to start one.A life insurance policy can help make it possible for your family to maintain their standard of living, even if you’re no longer there to provide for them. You don’t need to have a family to think about life insurance because the younger and healthier you are at the time of purchase, the lower your premium will generally be. You can choose between annually renewable term policies where the premiums start lower and increase with age or level term insurance plans, in which the premium remains the same for a fixed period of time. Remember that if you choose a level term insurance plan, your premiums are averaged over the term of your policy, and you will be paying more when you are just starting out than you would with an annually renewable term policy.

To help protect your savings against unexpected healthcare costs, consider Supplemental Medical Insurance, which can help cover the high out-of-pocket costs typically associated with high-deductible health plans and with individual health coverage purchased under the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Insurance Based on Your Career Path
The career path you choose will also influence your insurance needs. Depending on whether you are planning to go into residency, the military, a Dental Service Organization (DSO), a small group practice or an individual practice, the type and amount of coverage you'll need will vary.

Completing additional education
While you may not be bringing in a substantial income, you should still consider financial protection for you and your family. Look for options that are no-cost or low-cost but will still provide enough coverage to meet your needs, especially if you're going to be in a long-term residency.

Buying a practice or funding a buy/sell agreement
You'll likely need a bank loan, or funding for a buy/sell agreement, to start a practice, and to obtain either you’ll need some type of collateral. Many dentists use life insurance. This strategy, known as "collateral assignment of a life insurance policy," enables your lender to collect some or all of your life insurance (depending on how you set it up) if you still owe money on your loan at the time of your death.

Consider Office Overhead Expense Disability Insurance. These policies help protect your practice if you become disabled by covering important business expenses, like employee salaries, rent or mortgage, practice loan or buy/sell agreements.

Working for a DSO or as an employee at a practice
Find out whether your employer provides disability and life insurance. If it does not offer both, you'll need to find your own coverage. Even if your employer does offer disability insurance, does the plan provide you with sufficient coverage, including a true "own occupation" definition of disability? If not, consider obtaining your own coverage. Remember that you typically need to medically qualify for life insurance, and it could become more difficult to obtain new life insurance or qualify for preferred rates later in your life.

Right for your situation
Wherever your career takes you, insurance can help protect what you've worked so hard to build. Look for the coverage that's right for your situation. Reach out to your Insurance Plan Specialist to talk about your career plans and discuss how to customize your insurance portfolio to meet your needs. They can help you determine what type and how much disability and life insurance coverage you'll need. They can also help you consider whether you need Office Overhead Expense Disability Insurance and Supplemental Medical Insurance.

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The information on this website is not a contract. Protective refers to Protective Life Insurance Company (PLICO) and its affiliates, including Protective Life and Annuity Company (PLAIC). PLICO, founded in 1907, is located in Nashville, TN and is licensed in all states excluding New York. PLAIC is located in Birmingham, AL, and is licensed in New York.

Protective® is a registered trademark of PLICO. The Protective trademarks, logos and service marks are property of PLICO and are protected by copyright, trademark, and/or other proprietary rights and laws. ADA® is a registered trademark of the American Dental Association (ADA). ADA Members Insurance Plans® is a registered service mark of the ADA. The ADA trademarks, logos, and service marks are the property of the ADA and used by Protective with permission. In some states, the ADA is entitled to receive royalties from the ADA Members Insurance Plans.

ADA Members Insurance Plans refers to the group life, disability, and supplemental medical policies issued by PLICO and PLAIC to the ADA.

Policies issued by PLICO in all states except New York: Term Life Insurance1 (TL-P 1-21), Student Term Life Insurance (TL-ST-P 2-21), Universal Life Insurance1 (TP-P 11-20), Level Term Insurance2 (LT-P 1-21), Disability Income Protection Insurance3 (IP-P 7-20), Office Overhead Expense Disability Insurance4 (OE-P 9-20), Student Disability Income Insurance3 (ST-P 8-20), Hospital Indemnity Insurance (HI-P 11-20), and Critical Illness Insurance (CI-P 7-20).

In New York, policies issued by PLAIC: Term Life Insurance1 (TL-P-NY 1-21), Student Term Life Insurance (TL-ST-P-NY 2-21), Universal Life Insurance1 (TP-P-NY 2-21), Level Term Life Insurance2 (LT-P-NY 2-21), Disability Income Protection Insurance3 (IP-P-NY 12-20), Office Overhead Expense Disability Insurance4 (OE-P-NY 01-21), Student Disability Income Insurance1 (ST-P-NY 1-21), Hospital Indemnity Insurance (HI-P-NY 1-21), and Critical Illness Insurance (CI-P-NY).

Consult the policy for benefits, riders, limitations, and exclusions. Benefits adjusted for misstatements of age or sex. Benefits are provided under a group policy issued to the ADA. Each Plan participant will receive a Certificate of Insurance explaining the terms and conditions of the policy. An insured must maintain continuous ADA membership to remain eligible for insurance.

1For term life insurance and universal life insurance, premiums increase annually based on age. The Premium Credit is not guaranteed but reevaluated periodically. Universal life recommended premiums consist of the costs of insurance (which vary based on the member’s age and coverage amount), the amount a member places into the Policy Value Account and service charge. Premium deposits may fluctuate or remain level.

2For level term life insurance, premiums are fixed based on the member’s age, gender and coverage amount at issue.

3Premiums increase every five years based on age for disability income protection. Premium Credit is not guaranteed but reevaluated periodically.

4Premiums increase every 10 years based on age to age 60 and every 5 years thereafter to age 75 for office overhead expense disability. Premium credit is not guaranteed but reevaluated periodically.

Coverage for dental student members is issued regardless of condition if under age 60. Coverage automatically renews each academic year. Individuals may convert coverage to the plans for practicing dentists after graduation by paying member premiums and maintaining continuous ADA membership.

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