Disability insurance matched to your specialty and income.

What is own-occupation disability insurance?

Own-occupation disability insurance pays benefits if you cannot perform the specific duties of your profession, even if you could work in another capacity. A surgeon who develops a hand tremor and can no longer operate but could consult or teach receives full benefits under a true own-occupation policy. Under an any-occupation policy, that same claim is denied.

This distinction is the single most important provision in any disability contract for a high-income professional. Not all carriers define it the same way. Some limit own-occupation protection to a set number of years. Others require you to stop working entirely. The differences are substantial, and they determine whether a claim pays or not.

We compare own-occupation language across every top carrier and show you exactly how each contract would respond to a claim in your specific specialty. The right policy depends on your profession, your income structure, and the clinical or professional duties that define your career. That level of precision is what separates adequate coverage from coverage that actually protects you.

This is not theory for us. Of the individual policies we have placed over 15+ years, about 28% drew an exclusion or rating at underwriting, mental and nervous conditions the most common reason, so the definition you lock in and the timing of your application both shape what a claim actually pays. Our State of Disability Underwriting report breaks the patterns down by profession from our own book.