Top carriers for Pediatricians
All five carriers below can be written as true own-occupation for most professions. Guardian and Ameritas build it into the base definition, MassMutual and Principal deliver it through their own-occupation rider or definition, and at The Standard it comes through a rider whose availability depends on your occupation class. Your optimal carrier depends on your specific specialty, income structure, and state. We compare all five side-by-side in every analysis.
| Carrier | Product | AM Best rating | Contract strength |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Provider Choice | A++ (Superior) | Strongest contract of the five, in our view |
 | Platinum Advantage | A (Excellent) | Contract clarity |
 | Income Protector | A+ (Superior) | Most flexible underwriting in our experience; deep rider menu |
 | Radius Choice | A++ (Superior) | Mutual-company dividends; billing-code own-occ |
 | DInamic Cornerstone | A (Excellent) | Competitive pricing; highest BOE limit of the carriers we place |
Provider Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Strongest contract of the five, in our view
Radius Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Mutual-company dividends; billing-code own-occ
Income Protector
- AM Best
- A+ (Superior)
- Strength
- Most flexible underwriting in our experience; deep rider menu
Platinum Advantage
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- Contract clarity
DInamic Cornerstone
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- Competitive pricing; highest BOE limit of the carriers we place
Get a comparison of all five carriers tailored to your specialty
Get a Quote ComparisonHow do disability carriers class pediatricians?
Principal's 6M medical class holds exactly one physician specialty under its mid-2026 guide, and it is pediatrics. The other four carriers we place put pediatrics at or near the top of their physician scales too, with Ameritas at 6M, Guardian at 5M (its highest physician class), MassMutual at 5P/1 (its lowest-priced physician tier), and The Standard at 5P, where a discount for select specialties also applies to pediatrics. Carriers set physician premiums by class, and that placement is why pediatric coverage costs so little per dollar of benefit. Pediatric cases are a regular part of our book, and our physician occupation class grid sets every carrier's assignments side by side.
Class sets the price, while the definition of disability decides whether a claim pays. Insist on true own-occupation, under which benefits continue when you can no longer practice pediatrics, even if you earn in another medical role. Each carrier's wording is compared in the physician own-occupation guide.
A pediatric subspecialty is not automatically inherited from general pediatrics, and the assignment can shift with the work. At Principal, a pediatric hospitalist classes as a hospitalist rather than a pediatrician. On a non-cancelable policy, coverage bought as a general pediatrician holds its class and terms even as the practice narrows, which is one reason to place it before subspecialty training reshapes the profile.
What does disability insurance cost a pediatrician?
A 35-year-old man in general pediatrics pays $175 to $260 a month for $10,000 of monthly benefit after a 180-day wait. The table prices each carrier at the pediatric class listed above (Guardian 5M, Principal 6M, MassMutual 5P/1, The Standard 5P, Ameritas 6M), and every cell already carries true own-occupation, residual coverage for partial disability, the increase riders, and benefits that run to 65.
| Profile | Monthly benefit | 180-day wait | 180-day wait + inflation protection | 90-day wait + inflation protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male, 30 | $10,000 | $150–$220 | $180–$270 | $215–$320 |
| Female, 30 | $10,000 | $275–$340 | $330–$420 | $390–$495 |
| Male, 35 | $10,000 | $175–$260 | $215–$300 | $255–$350 |
| Female, 35 | $10,000 | $330–$405 | $390–$465 | $455–$545 |
| Male, 45 | $10,000 | $270–$415 | $310–$460 | $365–$540 |
| Female, 45 | $10,000 | $495–$650 | $560–$715 | $660–$840 |
Lowest to highest carrier, monthly, 2026 list price, Texas basis. Figures include residual coverage, the no-cost increase riders, and the own-occupation rider at carriers that sell one separately. They exclude the catastrophic disability rider, and inflation protection appears only where a column says so.
The female row at 35 shows $330 to $405 a month on the 180-day design. For men, putting the purchase off until 45 means $270 to $415 on that design, against $150 to $220 at 30, or $215 to $320 once a 30-year-old adds inflation protection and moves to a 90-day wait.
Seaworthy's 2026 quote study is the source. We ran carrier illustrations in August 2026 for 28-, 35-, and 45-year-olds at $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000 of monthly benefit, and the age-30 rows are interpolated from those runs. Women's prices come from the female-to-male ratio we measured at each carrier. For the 180-day columns we took 85% of the 90-day illustration. Every price assumes mental and nervous benefits for the full benefit period, the design a pediatrician can generally get at the five carriers we place, state rules in California, New York, and Florida aside. Expect your own quote to shift with your state, your health history, and any discount through an employer or association. Full-rider-package prices for each specialty are on our physician cost page, and the disability insurance cost guide covers how any premium is built.
How does a pediatric income change the coverage?
General pediatricians earned a median of $210,040 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the lowest among the physician specialties it lists and below the $275,930 median for all physicians and surgeons. That income lowers how much benefit a carrier will issue. It does not weaken the case for owning the policy, and with the specialty classed so well, the premium set against the benefit starts lower than for any other specialty in Seaworthy's 2026 quote study.
At pediatric pay, the ceiling comes from issue-and-participation limits that scale with documented income, and no class cap comes into play. That makes documentation the place a larger benefit is won. List base salary, call pay, moonlighting, and any partnership distributions on the application. Our benefit sizing guide shows how the limits step up, and an increase option lets the benefit rise with later raises without new medical underwriting.
What disables a pediatrician?
Infectious exposure and the physical work of examining children set pediatrics apart from the office-based specialties it otherwise resembles on paper. Pediatricians are in continuous first contact with childhood infections across outpatient clinics, hospital wards, and urgent care. The physical side is underrated. Examining children means lifting, holding, and positioning patients who cannot position themselves and often will not cooperate, which accumulates into back, shoulder, and neck strain over a career.
A disability can also begin partial, as a reduced schedule before a stopped one. A residual disability rider pays on that partial loss of income, so the policy still responds before practice stops.
Can a pediatrician get full mental health coverage?
Generally yes. Carriers typically reserve the forced 24-month mental and nervous cap for a short high-risk list, and pediatrics is not on it. The five carriers we place therefore generally write pediatricians without the limitation, subject to state rules in California, New York, and Florida at some carriers, with the full period added by election or endorsement depending on the carrier. In the AMA's 2025 burnout survey, 41.9% of physicians reported at least one burnout symptom, so the full period is the design we quote first. Our physician mental health coverage guide has the carrier-by-carrier detail.
Is group disability coverage enough for a pediatrician?
Pediatricians we quote often have group long-term disability, and it seldom covers enough by itself. At pediatric pay the group plan's monthly cap trims less of the salary than it does for higher-paid specialists, so the gap can look small. Employer-paid benefits are typically taxable, however, and group plans commonly limit own-occupation protection to the first 24 months, so the individually owned policy stays at the center of the plan. The physician group vs individual guide works the after-tax numbers. How the premium is paid changes the tax result, so check your situation with a tax professional.
When is the best time for a pediatrician to apply?
As a resident if you can, and right away once training is behind you. Each of the five carriers we place runs a resident program that skips income documentation and offers resident discounts. When Seaworthy audited its placed book in 2026, about 26% of physician policies had come through underwriting with an exclusion or a rating, and underwriting sees only the record that exists on the day you apply. A pediatrician who applies early with a clean file pairs Principal's top class with the cleanest terms. Run the five-carrier comparison at your real income to size it.