For Attorneys Without Disability Insurance

When it comes to assisting attorneys with financial planning, disability insurance is almost always an essential point of discussion. A good number of attorneys are not insured for disability. And most of those who are not insured are solo-practitioners or employed in small firms. Yet a significant number of adults will have a medical condition that prohibits them from working for more than 90 days before they turn 65.  If you are like most, your ability to work is your most valuable asset.  As you think about the sacrifices you have made and the debt you incurred to become an attorney, a few minutes’ contemplation will lead to the inevitable conclusion of the need to protect your ability to generate income.  If we are not able to work, most of us are not able to fund other financial goals.  A financial plan that does not self-complete is incomplete. Making sure you have the right coverage is essential to ensuring that your financial goals are achieved. 

So why do some put off disability insurance? Here are two common excuses from professionals:

“I am too busy to focus on financial planning.” Time is of the essence for most attorneys. Tracking billable hours is the mechanism by which most attorneys measure fees to clients.  The fact that many attorneys are so busy goes to support the argument that one’s ability to work is one’s greatest asset, and to make sure your plan self-completes, that ability to generate income must be protected. There is no excuse for not finding time for financial planning.

“I can’t afford insurance!” Your insurance coverage is based primarily on what you earn. By law or by contract you are usually required to ensure some of your largest physical assets: your credit-financed car, and your credit-financed home.  Disability insurance is not required by law. But to achieve a high certainty in achieving your financial goals there needs to be a source of income for you even if you are physically unable to work. If you want to have a high certainty that your financial plan self-completes, you cannot afford not to have disability insurance.

For Attorneys With Disability Insurance

Not all disability insurance policies are created equal.  Does your coverage require you to work in another job even if you are unable to work as an attorney? Does your coverage end after five years or last for the duration of the disability or until retirement age? Are there cost-of-living riders? What about saving for retirement while you are disabled? I do a complimentary review of an attorney’s current policy to identify the soft spots to your existing policy so that you can determined whether a new policy would make sense.

I do not practice as an attorney, I have a JD/MBA and have worked with many attorneys when practicing as a mediator.  I now work with attorneys to help ensure that their financial plans self-complete if the ability to practice as an attorney is limited by a physical/mental limitation.  In conjunction with working to protect your ability to generate income, we can also work on your goals of saving for retirement. 

To find out if we are a good fit for each other schedule an initial meeting at no cost:

principal.meet.ci/schedule-with-pete-johnson