Take Advantage of AMA Perks

Most people don’t take advantage of their memberships. They opt instead to look into a private medical doctor or dental car insurance rates. Physicians and other healthcare professionals should take another look at their AMA membership, though. It goes way beyond research access and health matters to include perks for your home and auto — including insurance. We’ll save you time and trouble and overview these benefits for you.

Disability Insurance

Disability insurance is important for any physician in the medical field. If you’re injured or involved in an accident that leaves you sick or with lasting effects, forcing you to live with a disability, disability insurance can help cover you as you recover and go forward. 

It is advisable to look into what you pay for with AMA’s disability insurance. So we’ve compiled a quick rundown of the different ones offered on their site.

DisabilityPro Physician Own-Speciality Insurance®

This is a coverage plan that can act as both your primary disability package or as a supplementary one. It covers physicians under 60 who work full-time and are residents of the United States.

This plan is an “Own-Specialty” kind of plan. It specifies that the benefits for this disability cover you if you suffer from an injury or illness preventing you from working within your specialized field, regardless if you can switch to another field of medicine. 

It will cover up to $15,000 in monthly benefits, and AMA members will receive a 25 percent discount on the coverage. Non-members only receive a 15 percent discount.

Disability Insurance For Resident Physicians

Similar to DisabilityPro Physician Own-Speciality Insurance®, this coverage is an “Own-Specialty” coverage and will cover you if you cannot work within your field of practice, regardless of whether you can switch to a different medical field. 

Residents under 40 years old have coverage of up to $5,000 on monthly benefits, and this is regardless of your salary, debt, or pre-existing conditions. AMA members will receive a 25 percent discount on coverage while non-members receive a 15 percent discount. 

If you suffer a disability that falls under this insurance before you reach the age of 40, you can receive up to $200,000 in medical school loan repayment coverage. 

This coverage will also stay with you throughout your residency regardless of whether you change jobs or become self-employed. 

Disability Insurance for Medical Students

Even if it seems unlikely that you will suffer a major illness while still a student, disabilities or illness can happen at any time, and it is still a good idea to look into disability insurance. 

A nice feature of this insurance is it doesn’t require any physical exam or make you fill out a health form. All you have to do is sign up for the coverage. 

This coverage is an “Own-Speciality” coverage, and it can continue to cover you even past your graduation. You have coverage for up to $2,000 of monthly benefits and can apply for more benefits once your training is complete. 

Health Insurance

For personal healthcare and family plans, the AMA provides physicians with a tool called eHealth that will compare quotes from a variety of plans out there.

Travel Insurance

For when you are looking to take a nice vacation, AMA’s travel insurance is flexible and offers a variety of options for your personal budget needs. 

This coverage for both domestic and international trips with up to $100,000 coverage per person for trip cancellations, 150 percent of the trip cost for trip interruptions, and up to $1,000 for travel delays. 

Life Insurance

AMA has many extensive plan options for life insurance, which is tailored to the needs of each physician. So, should you purchase life insurance from AMA? Let’s look at the different ones they provide.

Level Term Life Insurance

This life insurance plan can cover up to $4 million in insurance protection offered in 10,15, and 20-year terms. AMA members will receive an 8 percent discount on their coverage. 

You can apply for coverage for your spouse or domestic partner. Similarly, your spouse or domestic partner can also buy this same coverage for you even if you haven’t applied. 

For each eligible child, you can purchase up to $25,000 of coverage, which adds up to a $60 rate per year. When the term ends, you can choose to renew beyond the family’s original term period. 

You can ask for living benefits should you become ill with a terminal illness and you are given a life expectancy of 24 months, which can help cover medical costs incurred by the illness or injury. These “accelerated death benefits” are taxable, so be sure to reach out to a personal tax advisor for more information. 

Pure Term Life Insurance with QuickDecision℠

This coverage is exclusive to physicians under the age of 45 and their spouses or domestic partners. 

Insurance companies process this coverage in real-time, so you will know right away if they will cover you once you complete your form and you won’t need to go through a medical exam. They determine your eligibility by the information provided by the form and with permission that you grant them to view other forms of info like prescription drug checks and motor vehicle reports. 

You can have coverage of up to $1 million, and this benefit can act as the main coverage or a supplementary one. It will also follow you whether you change jobs or become self-employed. 

Preferred Term Life Insurance

This is a level life insurance plan that offers levels from $25,000 to $300,000 of coverage. Your spouse or domestic partner can also apply for the same benefits whether you do and you can add child coverage later to the plan. 

Rates will not change for the first five years of coverage and they base the rates on your age when they receive your application. As such, rates will only change every five years when you reapply and will remain locked until you reapply. AMA members will receive an 8 percent reduction for the first year of coverage. 

Premier Accident Insurance

This plan allows you to supplement your overall insurance protection plan for one sum payment upon accidental death or dismemberment for what might be covered in your life, health, or disability plans.

As long as you are an eligible physician under the age of 70, you will have coverage for this plan. You do not need to provide a medical exam or health history report. You can select benefit amounts for $500,000, $750,000, or $1 million and physicians receive a 5 percent rate reduction. AMA members will receive a 20 percent rate reduction.

If you add just your spouse or domestic partner to the plan and they are insured for 50 percent of your benefits. Adding just a child means they will receive 15 percent of your benefits, each. If you add both your spouse or domestic partner and your children then your spouse/domestic partner will receive 40 percent of your benefits and your children will receive 10 percent of your benefits each.

When a member or spouse reaches the age of 70 or over, then their full benefit amount reduces to 75 percent. 

You receive these benefits upon the insured’s death or dismemberment regardless of how much money you receive from other insurances or protections.

Medical Student Term Life Insurance

While it may not make sense to add life insurance when a medical student, it can greatly benefit your family if an unexpected accident occurs and your family now be responsible for any debt that you incurred in school. This coverage can provide some help if loans and debt are not forgiven if the student passes.

This coverage plan is eligible for full-time medical students attending an accredited medical school and can cover up to $100,000 for $40 a year or $50,000 for $20 a year. This coverage will automatically double to $100,000 or $200,000 in the event of accidental death. Any spouse or domestic partner under the age of 40 may also enroll regardless of whether you do. 

This coverage will also continue after graduation, and you will automatically be enrolled in the Physician Term Life Plan with the same benefits at a rate based on your current age 12 months after your graduation. 

What other benefits are out there?

We hope this information helps you understand the different options available with an AMA membership. AMA provides a lot of beneficial discounts and lower rates for its members. 

Be sure to compare other life insurance companies to make sure you get the best rates. It never hurts to do extensive research on all your options.

Breanne Lingo writes and researches about auto insurance for CarInsuranceComparison.com.