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| Disability Insurance |
 Besides, a disability insurance policy also adapts to meet the changing needs of the insured. A Future Increase Option (FIO) Rider allows the policyholder optional future increases in coverage without providing evidence of medical insurability. Any policyholder will be attracted by the ability to increase coverage regardless of current health status, but the FIO Rider is also ideal for a student who wants to increase coverage upon graduation and the expectation of significant income. A policy obtained by a student before they take their first class in medical school can be flexible enough to last a career.
The flexibility, protection, and benefits the insured has by purchasing a disability insurance policy as a student are reflected by the stance that medical schools take. The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Dartmouth Medical School mandate that all students have disability insurance. There are states where it is illegal to require students to have a disability insurance policy, but most medical schools at least recommend that all their students have it. The University of Washington School of Medicine was ranked in 2006 by U.S. News and World Report as one of only three schools in the top 10 for both research and primary care. Their office of student affairs and services says it is advisable to have disability insurance in light of the cost of education and risks associated with practicing medicine. The school proposes its students a plan, but in general, group plans come with limitations and restrictions.
LCME, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, is the sole accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree in the United States. Accreditation standard MS-28 states, all students must have access to disability insurance. Only allowing access to disability insurance a minimal requirement placed on accredited medical schools or even recommending it, is not enough to save students from the risks of not protecting their future income. In light of the monetary investment that students make to medical schools, it should be the responsibility of each school to promote and educate its students about the benefits, value, and importance of disability insurance.
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