Provider Reviews: Ohio National Disability Insurance

If you searched for Ohio National disability insurance, there’s a good chance you fall into one of two groups. Either you already own a policy and you’re wondering why your paperwork now says AuguStar, or someone mentioned Ohio National as a strong option for physicians and you want to know if it still is.

Short answer for both. You can’t buy a new Ohio National disability policy anymore. But if you already have one, it didn’t go anywhere.

Here’s what changed, and what it means for your coverage.

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Who is Ohio National?

Ohio National started in Cincinnati in 1909. For most of its history it was a mutual company, owned by its policyholders, and it built a solid reputation in the physician disability market. Its individual policy, ContinuON Income Solutions II, came up a lot in conversations about true own-occupation coverage.

Then things moved fairly quickly.

In 2022, Ohio National completed a sponsored demutualization and became part of Constellation Insurance Holdings, which is owned by two large Canadian pension investors. In 2023, Constellation announced that Ohio National’s life insurance companies would be renamed AuguStar Life and AuguStar Retirement. You can see the full timeline on Constellation’s company history page.

So the company didn’t fold. It changed owners and then changed its name.

Disability Insurance From Ohio National

This is the part that matters if you’re shopping. Ohio National stopped accepting new applications for its individual disability policies, and AuguStar’s current product lineup is life insurance and annuities. There’s no disability product to apply for.

When a carrier exits a line of business like this, the existing policies usually become what the industry calls a closed block. Nobody new gets added. The company keeps administering the policies already on the books, collecting premiums and paying claims under the original contract terms.

That’s the situation here. Existing Ohio National disability policies are still in force, and AuguStar now handles service and claims.

It’s not unusual, by the way. Carriers have been entering and leaving the physician disability market for decades, which is one reason the fine print in your contract matters so much more than the logo on it.

What Current Ohio National Policyholders Should Know

If you own one of these policies, most of the news is good.

Your contract didn’t change when the name did. The benefit amount, benefit period, definition of disability, and any riders you bought are the same today as the day the policy was issued.

Most physician policies Ohio National sold were non-cancelable and guaranteed renewable. That combination means the company can’t cancel your coverage, change the terms, or raise your premium as long as you pay on time. Pull your policy and look for that language on the schedule page. If you see “guaranteed renewable” without “non-cancelable,” the premium can go up for a whole class of policyholders, so it’s worth knowing which one you have.

For claims, you’ll work with AuguStar. Your policy number stays the same, and the current contact information should be on your latest premium notice or annual statement. Our guide on filing a disability insurance claim walks through what to gather before you call.

One more thing. Check whether you bought the Guarantee of Physical Insurability rider. If you did, you may still have the right to buy more coverage without new medical underwriting, and on a closed block that option can be especially valuable because you can’t simply go back and buy another Ohio National policy. Confirm the remaining windows and amounts directly with AuguStar.

Definition of Disability

How a policy defines disability decides whether it pays. Ohio National policies used one of three definitions, depending on what was purchased.

True Own-Occupation

This is the strongest definition and the one most physicians should want. You’re considered disabled if you can’t perform the material duties of your own occupation, even if you’re able to work in another field and earn income there.

Ohio National added a physician-specific clause that treated your medical specialty as your occupation. A surgeon with a hand injury who moves into teaching could still collect benefits. If you’re not sure your own policy reads this way, our article on own-occupation traps explains what to look for.

Any-Occupation

The weakest definition. Benefits are paid only if you can’t work in any job you’re reasonably suited for by education and experience. For a physician, that can mean almost no disability qualifies.

Own-Occupation, Not Working

A middle ground. You’re covered if you can’t do your own occupation and you choose not to work elsewhere. Take another job and the benefits can stop or shrink.

Mental and Nervous Disorders

This is a section a lot of policyholders skip, and it matters more than people expect.

Like most carriers, Ohio National generally limited benefits for mental and nervous conditions to 24 months, unless you were hospitalized or receiving qualifying ongoing treatment. Some policies included a rider that removed or extended that limit.

Given how common burnout, depression, and anxiety claims have become among physicians, find this provision in your contract before you ever need it. We cover the bigger picture in does disability insurance cover mental health.

Disability Insurance Premiums

Ohio National priced premiums on your age, health, specialty, benefit amount, and elimination period, plus whatever riders you added. Most physician policies had level premiums, which is why locking one in during residency or early in practice was usually a good deal.

If you pay the premium with after-tax dollars, the benefits generally come to you tax free. If an employer paid it, that usually flips. Our breakdown of when disability income is taxable covers the details.

Elimination Period

The elimination period is the waiting period between the start of a disability and the first benefit check. Ohio National offered 60, 90, 180, or 365 days.

Shorter periods cost more. Ninety days was the most common choice, and it’s what we generally recommend to physicians with a decent emergency fund. More on that in our guide to the disability insurance elimination period.

Built-In Benefits

These came standard with Ohio National’s individual policy.

Waiver of Premium

Once you’re disabled for the elimination period, you stop paying premiums while you’re receiving benefits.

Hospice Care Benefit

If you enter hospice care, the policy treats you as totally disabled and waives the elimination period.

Survivor Benefit

If you die while receiving benefits, your beneficiary gets a lump sum, typically equal to a few months of your monthly benefit.

Presumed Total Disability Benefit

Loss of sight, hearing, speech, or the use of two limbs counts as total disability automatically, even if you go back to work.

Transplant Surgery Benefit

If you donate an organ for transplant, recovery time is covered as a disability.

Optional Riders

Riders are where policies really separate, and they’re the first thing to check on an existing Ohio National contract.

Own Occupation Rider

This rider is what gives you the true own-occupation definition described above. Without it, the base definition is weaker.

Enhanced Residual Disability Rider

Pays a partial benefit if you can still work but your income drops because of an illness or injury. For physicians who cut back hours instead of stopping, this rider often does more of the work than the total disability benefit. See residual disability riders for how the math works.

Cost of Living Increase Rider

Increases your benefit during a long claim to keep pace with inflation. Our COLA rider comparison shows how much this can add up over a 20 or 30 year claim.

Catastrophic Disability Benefit Rider

Adds an extra monthly benefit for severe disabilities, such as losing the ability to perform two or more activities of daily living or a severe cognitive impairment.

Guarantee of Physical Insurability

Lets you buy more coverage later as your income grows, without new medical underwriting. This is Ohio National’s version of what most carriers call a future increase option.

Student Loan Reimbursement Rider

Helps cover student loan payments while you’re disabled. Mostly relevant to younger physicians still carrying training debt.

Social Insurance Supplement Rider

Pays an extra benefit while you wait on a Social Security Disability decision, then adjusts once that decision comes through.

Should You Keep Your Ohio National Policy?

In most cases, yes.

You bought it when you were younger and probably healthier. Replacing it now means new underwriting at your current age, and possibly exclusions for anything that’s shown up in your medical history since. A strong legacy contract with true own-occupation language is hard to beat.

Where it gets more interesting is when your income has outgrown the coverage. A policy that made sense on a resident’s or new attending’s salary might replace only a fraction of what you earn now. If your future increase options are used up or expired, you can layer a second individual policy from another carrier on top. That’s what supplemental disability insurance is for, and it doesn’t require giving up what you already have.

If you’re not sure where you stand, we’ll look at your existing Ohio National contract for free and tell you plainly whether it still fits.

Shopping for Disability Insurance Now?

If you were hoping to buy Ohio National, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Several carriers are still actively writing physician policies with true own-occupation coverage, and they differ quite a bit on definitions, mental health limits, and rider pricing.

We’ve reviewed the main ones in detail:

• Guardian disability insurance
• MassMutual disability insurance
• Principal disability insurance
• Ameritas disability insurance
• The Standard disability insurance

For a side-by-side view, start with our guide to the top disability insurance companies for physicians.

Or skip the homework. Physicians Thrive works with multiple carriers, so we can quote and compare physician disability insurance across companies and point out the contract differences that actually affect a claim. If you’d rather talk it through first, contact us.

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