Menu
Menu
×

Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance

While not a comfortable topic to discuss, long-term disability (LTD) insurance is an essential policy for those who work in veterinary offices. An LTD policy protects your income if you have to stop working due to health issues or an injury-related disability.

At Vetinsure, we work exclusively with veterinary offices to meet their unique insurance needs. Our network of AM Best A-rated insurers allows us to provide superior long-term disability coverage at fair rates. Here’s everything you need to know about LTD insurance:

Long-Term Disability (LTD) Information

A long-term disability insurance policy covers any leave due to a disability for more than six months. Benefits continue until the policyholder can return to work or reaches the age of 65. While the benefit amount depends on the policy, LTD policies typically pay no more than 60% of your pre-tax income.

Since working in the veterinary field is considered a specialized occupation, it is best to look for an "own occupation" policy. These policies ensure you can still receive benefits if you can’t continue to work as a veterinarian but can still work another type of job. In contrast, with an "any occupation" policy, you will only receive benefits if you can't work at all.

Likewise, make sure to get a "guaranteed renewable" policy. These policies will always provide coverage as long as you continue to pay the premium, though premium prices may still increase. By ensuring your long-term disability policy is "non-cancelable," you ensure that, as long as you are paying your premium, the insurer can’t change the conditions of the policy you hold.

A robust long-term disability policy should include all three of the terms mentioned above—own occupation, guaranteed renewable, and non-cancelable—for those in the veterinary field. To strengthen your policy, you should consider the following long-term disability riders:

  • Mental Disorder and/or Substance Abuse: Normally not covered by long-term disability, adding this rider can provide up to a two-year maximum benefit for LTD claims.
  • Residual Disability: This rider will allow you to claim benefits if you are still working as a veterinarian but can’t work at your full capacity due to a disability.
  • Future Purchase Option: If you ever need your disability coverage increased, this rider will allow you to do so without medical underwriting.
  • Business Overhead Insurance: If you own your practice, then this rider will also take into account the cost of running your business to cover items like rent, utilities, and payroll.
  • Cost of Living Adjustment: This rider makes sure your benefit payments keep up with inflation.

Vetinsure's Long-Term Disability (LTD) Options

If you are interested in learning more about Vetinsure and our long-term disability insurance options, call us at (800) 272-1249 or contact us online today. We are more than happy to answer all your questions and help you decide on a policy that fits your unique situation. We have served the veterinary industry exclusively since 2008, and work with only unique insurance solutions to help protect you and your practice against the hardships of a long-term disability.