The Responsible Resident

Send us Fan Mail Lets face it, the chances are very high that you need review your existing life insurance policies. Life insurance for physicians should evolve as careers, families, income, assets, and financial responsibilities change.  In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt explains when physicians should review their life insurance and how major life events, from completing...

Send us Fan Mail Are you making common life insurance mistakes that could leave your family financially vulnerable?  In this episode of The Responsible Resident, Amber Stitt explores 6 life insurance planning mistakes physicians make, from relying solely on employer-provided coverage to choosing policies based on price rather than long-term financial needs. Key Takeaways: - How much life insurance...

Send us Fan Mail Is employer-provided life insurance enough to protect your family?   For physicians, medical residents, and fellows, group life insurance can be a valuable employee benefit, but coverage limits, job changes, and outdated beneficiary designations may leave important gaps in your financial plan. Key Takeaways: Is employer-provided life insurance enough? It depends on your coverage a...

Send us Fan Mail How do you choose a life insurance beneficiary, and who should be your backup?   For physicians, medical residents, and fellows, understanding primary versus contingent beneficiaries, trusts, and estate planning can help protect your family and keep your life insurance aligned with your financial goals. Key Takeaways: - What is the difference between primary and contingent benefic...

Send us Fan Mail Can non-U.S. citizen physicians get life insurance while working in the United States?  Yes, foreign citizenship does not automatically mean life insurance is unavailable.  For international physicians, medical residents, and fellows, the process may involve additional eligibility considerations, including citizenship, visa or residency status, U.S. ties, international travel, fin...

Send us Fan Mail Can physicians trust AI when researching life insurance?   AI tools can make life insurance easier to understand, helping physicians research terminology, compare policy concepts, explore underwriting questions, and organize information in seconds.  But an AI-generated answer may not represent the entire life insurance marketplace, and a carrier that appears frequently online is n...

Send us Fan Mail Life Insurance Underwriting: What Physicians Can Expect How does life insurance underwriting work for physicians? Life insurance companies evaluate mortality risk using medical history, prescriptions, family history, lifestyle, financial information, and other factors. Is life insurance underwriting the same as disability insurance underwriting? No. Life insurance primarily evalua...

Send us Fan Mail When Should Physicians Buy Life Insurance? Should physicians buy life insurance during residency or wait until they become attendings? The right time to evaluate life insurance depends less on your job title and more on whether someone is financially dependent on you today. Why might waiting until attending status matter? Life insurance requires underwriting, and changes in your h...

Send us Fan Mail Life Insurance Living Benefits for Physicians: What Can Your Policy Do While You’re Alive? As a physician, your financial plan is designed around protecting more than what happens if you die. What happens if you survive a serious illness, need extended care later in life, or want access to financial resources while you are still here? What are living benefits in life insurance? Li...

Send us Fan Mail How Does Life Insurance Laddering Work for Physicians? What is life insurance laddering? Life insurance laddering uses multiple policies or coverage layers with different term lengths to match different financial needs and timelines. Why might physicians use a life insurance ladder? A physician’s mortgage, children, income replacement needs, career, business obligations, and accum...

Send us Fan Mail Key Takeaways: Should physicians choose term or permanent life insurance? The better question is what job you need your life insurance to do. For many residents and early-career physicians, term life insurance can handle larger temporary protection needs, while permanent life insurance may serve different long-term financial objectives. Is permanent life insurance one type of poli...

Send us Fan Mail A Letter From the Founder: Why Physicians Need a Different Kind of Financial Conversation What if medical school had one more class? A class focused on everything that comes after medicine, including career decisions, financial organization, employer benefits, contracts, taxes, artificial intelligence, income protection, and life outside the exam room. Why create Physician Perspec...

Send us Fan Mail How much life insurance does a physician actually need? The answer is not one universal income multiple, or an online calculator.  For residents, fellows, and early-career physicians, determining the right amount of life insurance means balancing your family's actual financial needs with the amount of coverage an insurance company can financially justify based on your circums...

Send us Fan Mail Life insurance is not really about a policy. It is about protecting the people, plans, and possibilities that depend on the life you are building. In this episode of The Responsible Resident Podcast, Amber Stitt begins a new series focused on life insurance by asking a more important question than “How much coverage do I need?” She asks: Who depends on you, and what is your income...

Send us Fan Mail What can cause a physician to be declined for disability insurance?  In this episode of The Responsible Resident, Amber Stitt explains the five most common underwriting challenges physicians face and, more importantly, how to avoid them before submitting an application. You'll learn how medical diagnoses, ongoing health evaluations, unresolved medical records, pending surgeri...

Send us Fan Mail Can taking Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, or another GLP-1 medication affect your disability insurance application?  In this episode of The Responsible Resident , disability insurance expert Amber Stitt explains how disability insurance underwriters are evaluating GLP-1 medications, weight loss, treatment stability, and medical follow-up for physicians applying for coverage....

Send us Fan Mail Why do so many physicians postpone buying disability insurance?  Is employer group disability insurance enough?  What are the biggest misconceptions about physician income protection? In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt explores the 6 most common reasons physicians delay purchasing individual disability insurance, and why each assumption deserves a closer loo...

Send us Fan Mail What is an elimination period in disability insurance?  How long do physicians have to wait before disability insurance benefits begin?  Understanding the disability insurance waiting period is essential when designing an income protection strategy. In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt explains one of the most frequently misunderstood provisions in physician d...

Send us Fan Mail Should doctors deduct disability insurance premiums, or protect tax-free benefits later? In this bonus episode of The Responsible Resident Podcast , Amber Stitt breaks down one of the most misunderstood physician disability insurance planning decisions: the tax treatment of disability insurance premiums and how it affects benefits at claim time. This episode is designed for medica...

Send us Fan Mail Do physicians really have enough disability insurance through their employer?  What are the hidden limitations of group long-term disability (LTD) insurance, and how does it compare to individual true own-occupation disability insurance? In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt sits down with disability insurance attorney Ethan Abramowitz to explore the gaps, limi...

Send us Fan Mail Should physicians add a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) rider to their disability insurance policy?  How do Future Purchase Options (FPOs), also known as Future Increase Options (FIOs), protect future earning power and insurability? In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt sits down with disability insurance attorney Ethan Abramowitz to discuss two of the most im...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a physician files a disability insurance claim? How do own-occupation disability insurance policies, residual disability benefits, and group disability insurance contracts actually perform during a claim? In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt sits down with disability insurance attorney Ethan Abramowitz to discuss the real-world challenges phy...

Send us Fan Mail Why does disability insurance planning matter so deeply for physicians and how do early financial decisions shape long-term freedom and resilience? Disability insurance for physicians, financial resilience, income protection, and physician financial planning explained through Amber Stitt’s personal story. In this final episode of the first season of The Responsible Resident , Ambe...

Send us Fan Mail How do physicians choose the right disability insurance advisor and what is the difference between a captive agent and an independent advisor? Physician disability insurance, underwriting strategy, own occupation coverage, and independent insurance planning explained clearly. In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt breaks down how physicians can evaluate disabili...

Send us Fan Mail What built-in disability insurance features should physicians pay attention to when comparing policies? Own occupation disability insurance, ancillary benefits, waiver of premium, presumptive disability, and physician income protection explained clearly. In this episode of The Responsible Resident , Amber Stitt breaks down the built-in features and ancillary benefits commonly incl...