Hand Insurance for Dentists: What Could You Consider?

As a dentist, your hands are crucial to your career. In fact, some dentists choose to take out insurance policies on their hands in order to protect their income. 

But what does hand insurance look like for dentists? More importantly, is it worth the additional cost when you can purchase a likely much more affordable disability income insurance plan? 

Here’s some information to help you decide whether a hand insurance policy may be appropriate or if a disability income insurance policy will work appropriately for you. 

Hand Insurance For Dentists: What You Could Consider

If you have ever wondered what would happen to your practice — or you and your family — if something happened to your hands, you might have considered looking into a niche service that offers dentists insurance coverage on their hands.

Hand insurance often provides a payout in the event a dentist’s hands are injured, preventing a return to work, meaning it would compensate you as a dentist if you can no longer perform the necessary tasks associated with your career. 

This is a rare type of insurance that isn’t well known but can give you a peace of mind about what might happen in the event you injure your hands before your retirement years.

Instead, though, you could opt for disability income insurance, which provides that same peace of mind while providing a more common insurance coverage than a niche speciality insurance. In addition, disability income insurance offers even broader protection in the event of an injury or illness that prevents you from earning income. 

Why Choose Disability Income Insurance Over Niche Hand Insurance Coverage?

There are advantages to each type of insurance, but disability income insurance provides a wider scope of dependable coverage. 

Hand insurance policies cover a dentist’s ability to practice dentistry in the event their hands are injured beyond repair. However, there are often very specific stipulations to qualify for compensation. While the payout is often high, not every situation will qualify.

Disability income insurance covers much of the same situations that are covered under a hand insurance policy while providing a wider breadth of protection.

What Does Hand Insurance Cover?

Hand insurance can make dentists feel safer because some of their most valuable tools, their hands, are insured with a high payout. Unfortunately, because hand insurance is such a small niche specialty type of insurance, it's difficult to ascertain a company who will provide such a policy. In addition, the exact protections offered in a policy will vary between companies and depend on various individual factors pertaining to you as a dentist. 

Some commonly covered situations include:

• On-the-job injuries that cause loss in functionality and feeling.
• Loss of or extreme injury to individual fingers.
• Medical fees included in resolving such injuries.

In most cases, hand insurance isn’t offered as a standalone policy. This is because hands are just one of the many areas of coverage. Often, you have to seek an addition to general illness or injury clauses.

Does Every Dentist Need Hand Insurance?

In short, no. 

While it’s understandable to be concerned about your inability to perform your job if something were to happen to your hands, making you unable to perform necessary dentistry tasks, it is not necessary for every dentist to purchase hand insurance. 

If you are wondering if said coverage would be a good investment for you personally, consult with an insurance professional to review the value of such a policy in your particular situation.

In the meantime, while considering the option of hand insurance, it’s a good idea to also review and consider obtaining a disability income insurance policy. This may cover you in the event something tragic does happen.

You may want to start your policy while you are young. Insurance premiums are based on various statistics and demographics such as age, which means your disability income insurance policy generally have a lower the earlier in life you start your policy. 

Is Disability Income Insurance a Right Choice for You?

Considering hand insurance may be an appropriate idea. However, in most cases, disability income insurance provides you with similar coverage, often with more options and with more companies. Therefore, the important step is to cover yourself in the event of a disabling event. Whether that’s through a niche insurance is up to you.

To learn more, read our complimentary guide concerning disability income insurance and how it may apply to you.

About Treloar & Heisel

Treloar & Heisel is a premier financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. We assist thousands of clients from residency to practice and through retirement with a comprehensive suite of financial services, custom-tailored advice, and a strong national network focused on delivering the highest level of service. Insurance products offered through Treloar & Heisel, LLC.

Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Property and Casualty are divisions of Treloar & Heisel, LLC.

Insurance products offered through Treloar & Heisel, LLC.

This content is intended for general informational purposes and should not be construed as advice. The terms and definitions are not binding. Please consult with a licensed insurance professional and review your insurance policy.

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