What Is Residual Disability Coverage?

Dentist disability insurance is crucial for every dentist, as it covers you in case you become incapacitated. However, what should happen to you if you become partially injured or fall ill? Will your disability policy offer you benefits, or will you incur some income gaps? We answer the question, “What is residual disability coverage?” and share some reasons why you need to sign up for a policy that includes these benefits.

Residual Disability Explained

Total disability is when you’re not able to carry out your dentistry practice at all. Most dentist disability insurance will cover this. However, there are times when you sustain more minor injuries, meaning you can only work for a few hours each day and see a limited number of patients. Residual disability coverage should cover these cases and offer you some benefits for the lost income.

How Residual Disability Coverage Works

Usually, the benefits one receives are based on the percentage of income lost. For example, if you are losing 50% of your income due to a disability, the payment could be 50% of the total monthly disability benefit. However, the exact loss of income may vary, and you need to go through your dentist disability insurance policy to determine the requirements.

Some insurance policies will even give dentists recovery benefits. The benefits are meant to help you transition to full-time work smoothly. It may be given up to the point where your income is almost leveled with what it was before the disability.

Qualifying for Residual Disability Coverage

This will depend on the contract you sign with the insurer, but usually, the following criteria may be used:

• Loss of duties: you’re unable to complete all your job responsibilities.
• Loss of income: there is a drop in your monthly income.
• Loss of time: you’re working a limited number of hours compared to what you used to.

In most cases, if the residual disability bears an income loss of more than 80%, you may receive 100% of the total disability benefit.

Disability Insurance Policies That Have Residual Disability Coverage

Some policies will automatically include residual dentist disability insurance, but not all. As such, you should closely assess the policy you’re about to sign to determine whether it has residual disability coverage. In the case it is not available, you could discuss it with the broker and see whether they can add it to your plan.

Take Away

So, what is residual disability coverage? It is crucial for all dentists, as it covers the extra hours and lost income due to partial disability. You will still be able to maintain your lifestyle from before the disability happened.