A CRNA shopping for disability insurance usually gets the same non-answer from every direction: "it depends." That is true as far as it goes. Seaworthy has placed individual disability coverage for hundreds of CRNAs across the five major carriers, and the placed book says what nurse anesthetists actually pay.

How much does disability insurance cost for a CRNA?

Across the CRNA policies in our placed book, as of the 2026 review, most premiums land between roughly $225 and $430 per month. The median sits near $300, about $3,700 per year.

Measured against income, CRNA premiums typically land between 1% and 2.5% of earnings. The middle half of our book falls between about 1.2% and 2.3%. That sits inside the common 1%-to-3%-of-income rule of thumb for individual disability coverage. CRNAs earn a median annual wage of $223,210 as of May 2024 per the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics, so the dollars are meaningful but the share of income is not.

Two caveats. These are medians of policies as issued across recent years, not current new-business quotes, and the spread around them is wide. A 27-year-old buying $5,000 of monthly benefit and a 52-year-old buying $15,000 with cost-of-living and residual riders are both in that book, and they are not paying anything close to the same premium.

What does the price actually buy?

The premium alone is the wrong comparison number, because two CRNAs paying $300 a month may be buying very different amounts of protection. The useful metric is cost per $1,000 of monthly benefit.

In our placed book the median runs about $49 per month per $1,000 of monthly benefit. Each $1,000 of benefit is monthly income if a disability ends or interrupts anesthesia work, payable in most placed structures to age 65, and generally received free of income tax when the premium is funded with after-tax dollars. Tax treatment does vary with how the premium is paid, so confirm specifics with a tax professional. A CRNA carrying $10,000 of monthly benefit at that median unit cost pays around $490 a month. One carrying $6,000 pays closer to $295.

Premium dollars drift up only slowly by age in our book, because older buyers tend to carry smaller benefits. The next section measures the real slope per $1,000 of benefit.

Why the same coverage costs nearly twice as much at 50

Sorted by age at purchase, the unit cost in our placed book climbs through every band: about $37 per month per $1,000 of benefit for buyers under 30, the mid $40s through the 30s, around $50 in the early 40s, low $60s in the late 40s, and about $69 past 50.

That is close to a doubling between a purchase in the late 20s and one after 50, and it understates the real cost of waiting. Premiums on a non-cancelable individual policy are set by age and health at application, then stay level to 65. A buyer at 28 locks the high $30s per unit for an entire career. A buyer at 50 locks the high $60s.

Health is the quieter half of the same argument. About 4 in 10 CRNA applications in our book drew an exclusion or a rating (2026 audit), the highest rate of any profession we place, and the leading driver is mental and nervous history, followed by back and neck. Underwriting prices what the medical record shows on the application date, and records only accumulate, so the clean application window can close without notice. The CRNA underwriting guide covers what triggers those outcomes.

Why occupation class makes CRNAs pay more than office professionals

Disability carriers price occupations by risk tier, and the classes assigned to nurse anesthetists sit below the classes most physicians and office-based professionals receive. The class, more than any other single factor, is why a CRNA pays more per $1,000 of benefit than an accountant of the same age and health.

The assignment also varies between carriers for the same CRNA. MassMutual typically classes CRNAs at 4A, the strongest assignment among the five majors, Principal generally uses a 2M+ class, Guardian and Ameritas commonly apply 3M, and The Standard's 2P sits lowest, which also keeps its own-occupation rider out of reach for CRNAs. Those class differences move real dollars, and they interact with each carrier's rider pricing and discounts, so the cheapest carrier for one CRNA profile is often a different carrier for the next. The CRNA quote comparison lays the five carriers side by side.

Do male and female CRNAs pay different rates?

Generally yes. Individual disability insurance is typically gender-rated, and women commonly pay more for the same benefit, reflecting carrier claims experience. In our placed CRNA book, the median unit cost for women runs about $53 per month per $1,000 of monthly benefit against about $42 for men, a gap in the neighborhood of 25%.

Where a unisex rate is available, usually through an employer-sponsored multi-life arrangement with a participation discount, it can meaningfully change the math for female CRNAs. Ask about it on any quote. Availability turns on the employer's plan setup.

How does the AANA plan's pricing compare?

The AANA Member Advantage plan usually prices below an individual policy at younger ages, which is exactly why so many CRNAs start there. The difference is what the price does next. The AANA plan is age-banded: on the current published rate schedule, a CRNA's monthly premium in the early 50s commonly runs roughly 3 to 4.5 times the premium in the 30s for the same benefit, and it keeps climbing through every five-year band. An individually owned non-cancelable policy locks its rate at issue and cannot be repriced for the life of the contract.

The fair comparison is the career-long cost of each structure, alongside contract differences in the residual trigger, the mental and nervous cap, and the benefit reduction at 65. Many CRNAs reasonably hold both, with the individual policy as the core. The full contract breakdown is in our AANA plan analysis.

What moves a CRNA premium up or down

Beyond age, health, gender, and carrier class, the price is built from choices, and the placed book shows how professionals actually make them. On the elimination period, 90-day is the most common choice, on 82% of the placed book (2026 audit), and 180-day is the other mainstream structure, on roughly a third of recent placements. The two are legitimate fits rather than a discount ladder; 180 suits CRNAs with cash reserves comfortably past six months, and the premium difference can fund benefit or riders. A benefit period to age 65 appears on 87% of the book (2026 audit), and shortening it is a poor place to economize since long claims are the expensive ones.

Riders add cost deliberately. The residual disability rider, on over 95% of the book (2026 audit), keeps partial income loss covered and is close to non-negotiable for anesthesia work. Cost-of-living riders now appear on over 70% of our placements from the last two years (2026 audit). A benefit-increase feature adds a little premium today to let the coverage grow later without new medical underwriting, which matters for CRNAs early in their earning curve. The career-stage guide covers when each rider earns its cost.

The practical sequence follows from all of it. Apply while the medical record is clean, price all five carriers rather than accepting the first class assignment, and settle structure questions like the elimination period on fit with your advisor. A quote comparison at your actual age, income, and health profile replaces every median on this page with your number.

Frequently asked questions

How much does disability insurance cost for a CRNA?
Across the CRNA policies in Seaworthy's placed book, as of the 2026 review, most premiums land between roughly $225 and $430 per month, with the median near $300, typically 1% to 2.5% of income. The spread is wide because the premium tracks age and health at application, the occupation class each carrier assigns, the monthly benefit amount, the elimination period, the benefit period, and rider selection. These figures are medians of policies as issued across recent years rather than current new-business quotes, so the way to get a specific number is a quote comparison across the five major carriers, each of which prices the same CRNA differently.
Why does the same CRNA policy cost so much more at 50 than at 30?
Individual disability premiums are set by age and health at application and then, on a non-cancelable policy, stay level to age 65. In our placed book, CRNAs who bought before 30 paid about $37 per month per $1,000 of monthly benefit while those buying after 50 paid about $69, close to double the unit cost. Health compounds the age effect: roughly 4 in 10 CRNA applications in our book drew an exclusion or a rating (2026 audit), so a later application also carries more accumulated medical history and a higher chance of modified terms.
Is the AANA disability plan cheaper than an individual policy?
At younger ages it generally is, and that is worth saying plainly. The structural difference is how the price behaves over time. The AANA Member Advantage plan is age-banded, and on the current published rate schedule a CRNA's monthly premium in the early 50s commonly runs roughly 3 to 4.5 times the premium in the 30s for the same benefit, with further increases in every five-year band. An individually owned non-cancelable policy locks a level premium at issue to age 65. Many CRNAs reasonably hold both, with the individual policy as the core. Our AANA plan analysis covers the contract differences beyond price.
What is the cheapest way for a CRNA to buy disability insurance?
Apply early and compare all five major carriers. Age and health at application are the two biggest levers and both move against you over time. Carrier choice matters because occupation class assignments for nurse anesthetists differ across carriers, and the class mainly drives the premium, so the same profile can be quoted materially differently. Multi-life and association discounts, where available, reduce the rate further. On structure, the elimination period is a fit decision rather than a discount lever: 90-day is the most common choice in our book, and 180-day is the other mainstream structure for CRNAs with cash reserves comfortably past six months, with the premium difference able to fund benefit or riders. Dropping the residual rider or shortening the benefit period lowers the premium too, but those cuts show up at claim time, which is the wrong place to save.
How much coverage does a typical CRNA premium buy?
Rather than a single benefit figure, the useful metric is unit cost: in our placed book the median runs about $49 per month per $1,000 of monthly benefit, ranging from the high $30s for buyers under 30 to the high $60s past 50. Benefits are generally received free of income tax when premiums are funded with after-tax dollars, though tax treatment varies with how the premium is paid, so a tax professional should confirm any specific arrangement. Carriers size the maximum benefit from income through issue-and-participation limits. As a representative point, a CRNA earning around $210,000 can currently be issued a maximum individual benefit near $10,000 per month. How that layers with employer coverage is covered in our CRNA group vs individual guide.