At Physicians Thrive, our main goal is to provide physicians with the advice and guidance they need to have financial strength and security throughout their lives.
One of the ways we help physicians enjoy lifelong financial security is by helping them find the right disability insurance policy.
Disability insurance is essential protection for a physician’s future income. But with so many insurance providers and policies to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one to select.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve compiled a series of disability insurance provider reviews to help physicians decide which policies are the best (and which ones are the worst). Today we’re continuing that series with our provider review of Ohio National disability insurance.
Here’s everything you need to know about Ohio National disability insurance and why it’s a great option for physicians.
Important note: Ohio National no longer accepts new policyholders for disability insurance plans, but they still offer coverage for existing policyholders. If you are looking for a disability insurance provider, please read our guide to the best disability insurance for physicians.
Table of Contents
Who is Ohio National?
Ohio National is one of the nation’s leading insurance providers. In business since 1909, Ohio National is a mutual company, which means that they are owned by and pay dividends to policyholders, helping their customers gain even more financial strength over time.
Ohio National offers a variety of insurance products as well as wealth management services and annuities.
The company is financially sound and has great ratings:
- A rating from A.M. Best
- A3 rating from Moody’s Investor Service
- A- from Standard and Poor’s
Ohio National is one of the top insurance providers in the U.S., and its disability insurance product is one of the best that physicians can choose.
Disability Insurance From Ohio National
Ohio National offers an individual disability insurance policy called ContinuON Income Solutions II. This policy allows you the chance to insure your income in case you have an injury, become ill or disabled in some capacity and can no longer work in your current job.
ContinuON Income Solutions II is flexible and fully customizable. Physicians can add a variety of optional riders to make their policies more comprehensive as well as take advantage of many built-in benefits that come standard with every policy.
With disability insurance from Ohio National, you can choose from a variety of benefit periods, several different elimination periods, and enjoy the true own-occupation definition of disability, which is the key thing to look for when taking out a policy.
Definition of Disability
The definition of disability is the most important aspect of any insurance policy.
In order to start collecting benefits, you need to meet the insurer’s definition of disability. All disability insurance companies work this way, though there are several different definitions that insurers use.
There are three main disability definitions: true own-occupation, any occupation, and any occupation, not working.
Here’s what they mean:
True Own-Occupation
This is the definition you want. Under this definition, you will be eligible to collect benefits if you are unable to do some, part, or all of the duties of your current job. This definition offers the most protection, as it is the easiest standard to meet.
Here’s why it’s so important to have this definition:
This is the only definition that allows you to collect disability benefits even if you are able to work in any other occupation. As long as you’re not able to work in your exact specialty, you can collect monthly payouts, regardless of whether or not you can work in another occupation or field.
Like the other top insurance providers, Ohio National offers this definition as an additional rider.
The exact language that Ohio National uses is as follows:
“You have a Total Disability or you are Totally Disabled if due to a Sickness or Injury, in and of itself, you are not able to perform the Material and Substantial Duties of Your Regular Occupation, and you satisfy the Regular Care of a Physician provision in the policy.”
To qualify for benefits, Ohio National requires that you be under the care of a physician for the specific illness or injury that is preventing you from working in your current job. This is a standard provision that most insurance providers require you to meet.
Any-Occupation
Unlike the true own-occupation definition, which is very easy to meet, the any-occupation definition makes it much more difficult to qualify to receive benefits.
Under this definition, you will only collect benefits if you are unable to perform any work at all, regardless of whether or not it is the work you’re currently doing.
Own-Occupation, Not Working
With the own-occupation, not working definition, there’s a different standard to meet.
Under this definition, you need to be unable to work in your own occupation, be able to work in another occupation, and choose not to work in another job.
Disability Insurance Premiums
How much you’ll pay in monthly premiums depends on a variety of factors. Your age, your existing health conditions at the time of your application, your gender, your state, and your specialty are all considerations.
The elimination period you choose, the optional riders you add, and the amount of coverage all affect your monthly premiums.
Elimination Period
Every disability insurance policy has an elimination period. This is the waiting period between the date that you became ill or injured. And the date that you are eligible to start collecting benefits.
Ohio National allows policyholders to choose an elimination period of 60, 90, 180, or 365 days. Shorter elimination periods will add to your monthly premium. However, you’ll be able to collect your benefits faster. Longer waiting periods cost less.
Before choosing an elimination period, think about your overall financial picture. If you have a significant amount of savings or have a spouse with a steady income, you may want to save money on monthly premiums by choosing a longer period.
The best way to choose an elimination period is to think about how long you could survive with $0 income. If that’s only two or three months, you should opt for a shorter elimination period.
Related: Provider Reviews: Ameritas Disability Insurance Review
Built-In Benefits
The Ohio National ContinuON disability insurance policy includes a variety of built-in features. These are features that come standard with every policy and will not add to your monthly premiums.
Some of the built-in features of ContinuON are:
Waiver of Premium
With the waiver of premium benefit, you will not have to pay your monthly premiums while you are receiving monthly payouts. You will resume paying premiums when your disability, injury or illness ends.
Hospice Care Benefit
If your physician orders you to seek hospice care, Ohio National will waive the remainder of your elimination period and start paying you benefits as soon as you start hospice care.
Survivor Benefit
If you die while you are still receiving benefits, Ohio National will continue to pay two additional months of benefits to your surviving spouse, child, or beneficiary.
Presumed Total Disability Benefit
Ohio National will consider you totally disabled if you lose the use of both hands, both feet, or one foot and one hand. They will also presume you are disabled if you lose speech, hearing in both ears, or sight in both eyes.
If you are presumed totally disabled, you will not have to endure your elimination period. You can also still collect benefits. Even if you decide to return to some type of work.
Transplant Surgery Benefit
If your injury or disability is a result of cosmetic surgery or transplant surgery, Ohio National will pay your benefits and waive the elimination period, as long as the injury occurred more than six months after the policy was initiated.
Related: Provider Reviews: Guardian Disability Insurance
Optional Riders
Physicians can make their disability insurance coverage even more comprehensive by adding optional riders. These optional riders offer added benefits that will help to protect your income should you become too ill or injured to return to work.
Own Occupation Rider
As we mentioned above, this is THE most important rider you can add to your policy. Without the own-occupation rider, you’ll be subject to Ohio National’s standard definition of disability. Which states that you must be unable to work in any occupation that you have experience in.
Ohio National includes a special clause in their policy aimed directly at physicians:
“If Your Regular Occupation on the date of Disability is limited to a professionally-recognized specialty in medicine, dentistry or law within the scope of your degree of license, we will deem that specialty to be Your Regular Occupation.”
If you add only one rider to your policy, it should be this one.
Enhanced Residual Disability Rider
With the Enhanced Residual Disability Rider, you can collect benefits during the first six months of your disability even if you are still working.
To qualify for this, you must be able to perform some of the duties of your current job, but not all of them. After the first six months, you can continue to work and collect benefits as long as your disability causes you to lose at least 15% of the income you were earning before your injury.
Cost of Living Increase Rider
The Cost of Living Increase Rider, also referred to as COLA, is one of the most important riders you can add to a policy. Ohio National offers two versions of this rider. One which will pay an additional 2%–6% and one that pays an additional 3%.
With this rider, your monthly benefits will increase based on inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index. With the 2%–6% option, you’ll earn a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 6% extra per month, on top of your standard benefit. Moreover, with the 3% option, you’ll earn a straight 3%, regardless of what the rate of inflation is.
Catastrophic Disability Benefit Rider
If you become so ill or injured that you cannot perform two or more daily functions, the Catastrophic Disability Benefit Rider will pay you additional monthly benefits on top of your standard payout.
To qualify, you will need to lose at least two of the following abilities:
- Bathing yourself
- Continence
- Dressing
- Eating
- Toileting
- Transferring yourself (moving in and out of a chair, bed, or wheelchair).
Guarantee of Physical Insurability Income
With this rider, you can increase your coverage every year up to the age of 60. This is important because it allows you to increase coverage as your income level rises from year to year.
Young physicians who stand to make substantial salary increases over the years should always add a rider that allows coverage to increase over time.
Related: Why Every Physician Should Have a Future Increase Option Rider
Student Loan Reimbursement Rider
Young physicians that are still paying off medical school debt should add the Student Loan Reimbursement rider.
By adding this rider to your policy, Ohio National will pay you additional monthly benefits (on top of your standard benefits) in order to pay off student loan debt.
Social Insurance Supplement Rider
The Social Insurance Supplement rider offers you additional monthly benefits if you are receiving limited or no social income benefits. Social income benefits include funds from government disability services (such as Social Security disability), workers’ compensation, and funds used to pay benefits to state, local, and federal employees.
If you do receive some form of social assistance, your extra benefit will be offset by the amount you receive in social insurance each month.
Related: Disability Insurance Riders that Increase Benefits Over Time
Why Ohio National is a Good Choice for Physicians
Ohio National’s ContinuON Income Solutions II policy is a great option for physicians.
This policy is guaranteed renewable and non-cancelable. It offers a variety of built-in benefits and optional riders to make your policy even more comprehensive. And it includes the most important thing a disability insurance policy should include: the true own-occupation definition of disability.
If you’re a physician that owns their own practice, Ohio National also offers disability income insurance for small business owners. Their business overhead expense coverage allows business owners an added level of protection. Which can pay for business expenses while you’re unable to work.
Compare and contrast the top disability providers. Read A Physician’s Guide to the Top Disability Insurance Companies.
Ohio National is one of the “Big Six” insurance providers. The providers in this elite group are the only insurers that offer the true own-occupation definition of disability.
For physicians looking for income protection, Ohio National’s ContinuON Income Solutions II is one of the best disability insurance policies that money can buy.
Finally, to learn more about disability insurance, contact Physicians Thrive now.
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