Hand Insurance for Dentists: Is It Worth It?

Your hands are your tools. As a dentist, losing the ability to use your hands could mean the end of your career. Common conditions like arthritis and nerve damage threaten your livelihood, but serious accidents, such as losing a finger, could prevent you from doing your job. 

Hand insurance is often seen as something reserved exclusively for celebrities, but more and more professionals within the medical sector are enquiring about how to get insurance on your hands. 

Can you insure your hands? Is it worth it? What are the alternatives to hands insurance? Let’s answer these questions. 

Can You Insure Your Hands?

Insurance for hands exists. It’s part of a niche within the insurance industry called body part insurance. Naturally, it started with celebrities who relied on a particular part of their bodies to make a living. 

For example, a sports star may have insured their legs or knees against disaster. If the mentioned body part were damaged, the insurance company would provide a handsome payout. 

In recent years, ordinary people working regular jobs started thinking about body part insurance and its benefits. 

Body Part Insurance

“Is insurance for my hands worth it?”

These insurance policies are as easy to take out as any other form of insurance. To go about insuring your hands, you’ll need to fill out an application form, undergo a medical exam, and the insurance company will do their due diligence.

You’ll pay the monthly premiums, and if the worst happens, you’ll receive a permanent monthly benefit until you die or your hand recovers. Working out how to insure your hands is secondary to whether it’s right for you.

There are some considerable limitations regarding insurance for your hands:

• 12-month waiting period before any benefit is paid
• Recovering within less than a year means you get no benefits
• It only covers your hands. It doesn’t cover arm, elbow, shoulder, back, or leg problems

In other words, if you’ve damaged your shoulder and can’t work but your hands are fine, you’ll receive nothing.

Premiums can be expensive, too. For example, coverage of $10,000 per month would invite premiums of roughly $200 every month. When compared to other insurance policies, body part insurance isn’t cheap.

Hand Insurance for Dentists Is It Necessary?

The answer to this question may seem obvious. Someone who relies on their hands should insure them. But the truth is that these policies are difficult to come by. Few insurers offer body part insurance because there is little to no demand.

It was always designed for high-income individuals, like celebrities. There are better alternatives to insurance on hands.

The main limitation is that full-body or disability insurance is far cheaper, available through most insurers, and offers greater flexibility.

Here are some reasons why you should opt for a full-body policy:

• Unlimited Payouts – Hand insurance is limited by the maximum coverage you take out. Once it has been expended, you get nothing more.
• More Affordable – Your premiums will be cheaper due to a higher level of competition within the industry. There are also more options to enable you to build a policy that only gives you what you need.
• Full-Body Coverage – Direct injuries to your hands are not the only threat. Broken shoulders, nerve damage in the arm, and chronic back problems could stop you from doing your job. Only a full-body policy will cover you in perpetuity.

In short, insurance for hands is a poor investment. There are better ways to protect your livelihood than body part insurance.

Alternatives to Hand Insurance

Body part-specific policies are not a good decision all-round. You need a policy that covers you against anything. Accidents, disease, and simple wear-and-tear pose a problem for a working dentist. 

Without protection, you’re risking everything from your house to your retirement. A catastrophic injury could mean relying on government disability benefits instead. 

You don’t need insurance on your hands. What you need is disability insurance. 

Disability Insurance 

Disability insurance is the coverage every dental professional should have. It’s superior to hands insurance for the simple reason that it includes insurance for your hands along with several other benefits. 

Anyone working in the dental profession needs a way to protect their future income should the worst happen. If you’re unable to work due to an injury or illness, disability insurance will typically cover up to 60% of your lost income. 

Holding a disability insurance policy enables you to pay your household bills and manage those additional medical expenses if you’re unable to work. You can also use the benefits to contribute toward your retirement. 

No dental professional should be without disability coverage. Even a minor injury could stop you from working. 

Choose a long-term coverage option to keep your costs down and ensure your protection never lapses. Monthly premiums for disability insurance vary heavily, influenced by factors like: 

• Age 
• Occupation 
• Location 
• Amount of coverage 
• Specific terms 

You can choose to add plenty of optional riders, such as a shorter waiting period before receiving benefits. Any added extras will cost more in premiums, so think carefully about your needs. 

Any good insurance policy will cost you 2% to 5% of your annual gross income in premiums. Analyze your current income, policy choice, and whether these percentages provide you with enough to support you and your family. 

Always take the time to shop around. Disability insurance is a common insurance type. You’ll find both general and specialist insurers offering it. It’s easy to manage your insurance comparison needs online at the click of a button. 

You should also compare your current disability insurance policy with other options annually. Don’t be afraid to switch if necessary. 

Conclusion

Insurance is a part of working within the dental business, whether you own your own practice or work as a contractor for someone else’s. How to grow your dental practice can be a challenge. You need a platform that enables you to manage and monitor your active insurance policies at a glance. 

Cloud 9 Software is the world’s leading specialty dental practice management platform located in the cloud. Enhance your dentistry management to keep the wheels turning. 

Find out why thousands of practices rely on Cloud 9 software and request your free demo today.