Lawrence B. Keller, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, LUTCF

Dr Smith has been practicing as a solo provider in New York for many years. Although he currently has a very successful practice, because of personal circumstances, he is ready to retire. As retirement approaches for Dr Smith, what are his options with regard to his medical practice? He essentially has 2 options: sell the practice or permanently close the office.

My last article published in the March 2012 issue of Oncology Practice Man agement described the benefits of Key Person Replacement insurance and how it can benefit a medical practice. This article focuses on 2 additional types of disability insurance that are often used to protect a medical practice—Disability Business Overhead Expense insurance and Disability Buy-Out insurance.

Although most physicians are aware that one of the greatest risks they face is becoming disabled and unable to perform the “material and substantial” duties of their medical specialty, most are unaware that myriad types of disability insurance policies exist to protect their medical practices. These types of policies can assure that ongoing business expenses can be met, that creditors can be paid, and that the medical practice or value of their business interest(s) will be preserved in the event that he or she is unable to return to the practice of medicine. Read More ›

This final article in our disability insurance series provides tips on how to compare one company’s policy to another com­pany’s policy when shopping for disability insurance coverage. This will help you ultimately choose the right policy to best meet your individual needs and goals.