For medical students, residents and fellows in Canada
Protect the income before you earn it.
Medical training can create access to disability insurance before full practice income exists. Certain programs may also offer student pricing, premium holidays or simplified evidence of insurability. If you wait, the pricing, underwriting requirements and terms available can all change.
For applications received on or after October 1, 2026, the Medical Student Offer minimum age moves from 18 to 26 and the student premium holiday falls from 12 months to 5. Critical illness leaves the offer. Review Medical Student Offer eligibility before submitting a fully underwritten application; application outcomes can affect access to simplified coverage. See the Medical Student Offer
Start with what I may already haveWhat is different during training
Training can create access
Certain programs may recognize your stage before full practice income exists.
The early economics can be different
Student pricing, waived initial premiums or a premium holiday may be available.
Underwriting may be simpler
A declaration or shorter health questionnaire may apply, subject to insurer review.
Coverage can grow later
A future increase option may help the benefit follow your income.
Begin with the foundation
You may already have some coverage.
Medical students and residents may have access to coverage through a provincial medical association, residency program, university or workplace.
That coverage can be an important and cost-effective part of the overall plan. Before considering anything additional, it helps to understand what is already in place and what it was designed to do.
Provincial association coverage
Coverage made available through a provincial medical association or related program.
Resident or training coverage
Benefits connected to residency, fellowship or another stage of medical training.
University or workplace benefits
Health, life or disability benefits available through a school, hospital or employer.
The goal is not necessarily to replace existing coverage. It is to understand how the different pieces may work together as your training and career develop.
Continue to what may be available at my stageStart with one question
Where are you in training?
Select your current stage. The illustration below changes with you.
Medical school · years 1–2
Illustrative monthly range
About $1,500–$2,500 per month
Educational range only. Not a quote, promise or recommendation. Amounts vary by insurer, province and program rules.
A contract may begin before the income arrives.
Certain student programs may recognize medical training rather than current earnings. The initial benefit is only part of the structure: a personally owned policy may also create a path to increase protection later.
Benefit ranges and features vary by insurer, province or territory, training status, health and current program rules. Premium holidays, waived premiums and simplified evidence of insurability are not guaranteed. The insurer may request additional information based on any answer. Current availability is confirmed before an application.
Already in the first year of independent practice? See the first-year student-program window.
What can change over time
The difference may be more than a higher premium.
Timing can affect how you qualify, how much evidence of insurability is required, what the policy excludes - and whether an insurer is willing to offer coverage at all.
During an eligible student or training-stage window
- Eligibility may be based partly on your training stage rather than earned income.
- Student pricing, waived initial premiums or a premium holiday may be available.
- A health declaration, shorter questionnaire or simplified evidence-of-insurability pathway may apply.
- An application reflects your current age and health history.
- Certain individual policies can include a guaranteed premium schedule to age 65.
- A personally owned policy and future increase option may be available before practice.
After the opportunity changes
- Qualification increasingly depends on actual income and financial underwriting.
- Underwriting may include an attending physician’s statement or other medical records, an interview, a paramedical examination, and blood or urine testing.
- New symptoms, prescriptions, investigations, counselling, treatment or diagnoses become part of the evidence of insurability.
- Older age can mean locking in a higher premium for the same coverage through age 65.
- Student-stage pricing features and simplified pathways may no longer be available.
What can change
Available choices can change over time.
A later application is not simply the same coverage at a later date. Underwriting can produce materially different outcomes.
A later entry age or rated offer can mean paying more for the life of the coverage.
A condition, body part or activity may be excluded.
The insurer may postpone a decision until an investigation or period of stability is complete.
The application can be declined, leaving no coverage available from that insurer.
Applying earlier does not guarantee eligibility, simplified evidence of insurability or standard terms. Premium guarantees and program rules vary by insurer and contract.
Already covered?
“I’m covered by an association or group plan. What more do I need?”
Association or group coverage can be an excellent starting point. A further review makes sense when income, duties or future obligations have grown beyond the assumptions behind the original coverage.
See when a further review makes senseDoes the benefit still fit an earning asset potentially worth millions over the career?
Would the definition respond if you could not perform the work that makes your practice unique?
What happens if you can still work, but with fewer duties, hours or earnings?
Does the protection still fit after graduation, specialization, incorporation or a change in practice?
The asset behind the decision
The largest asset you may own for years.
Your ability to practise may be the largest asset you own for many years. It is the source behind the mortgage, savings, retirement and every future financial choice. Protecting it deserves the same attention as any other major asset - often more.
This illustration is not an income forecast. It shows why future earning capacity can sit at the centre of the financial plan.
Age 24 now → estimated practice at age 29
36 income-producing years
Annual practice income, growing 2% from the start of practice. First practice year $276k → age 65 $563k.
Illustrative gross career income
$14,350,445Each year on the chart is the entered practice income grown by 2%. Training years are shown at zero until the estimated start of practice. This is not an income forecast, a present-value calculation or an insurance recommendation.
Adjust the illustration
What is actually protected
The same attention is not given to every asset.
A phone, a car and a house are routinely insured. The earning asset that can dwarf all of them is often left with little or no protection.
Value$1,500
InsuranceDevice insurance / replacement
Value$20k
InsuranceScheduled on homeowners
Value$50k
InsuranceCollision and comprehensive
Value$1M
InsuranceHomeowners, replacement cost
Value$14,350,445
InsuranceOften none during training
The illustrative career income is 14× a typical $1M house - and unlike the house, it is often uninsured.
Asset values and insurance descriptions are typical Canadian examples for comparison only. They are not the viewer’s assets, coverage, a quote or a recommendation. Disability insurance, when purchased, replaces a portion of income over time; it is not a lump-sum equal to career earnings. Bar widths are proportional to the larger of the illustrative career income and a typical $1M house.
“I thought I was covered”
Three answers worth checking.
Open the assumption that sounds familiar.
My spouse’s plan covers me
Health benefits and income protection solve different problems.
My spouse’s plan covers me
Health benefits and income protection solve different problems.
- Extended health may help with prescriptions, dental care, therapy or other eligible treatment costs.
- It generally does not replace your earned income if illness or injury prevents you from training or working.
- A spouse’s life or disability coverage protects the spouse - not your own ability to earn.
Bottom line: Check the actual benefit booklet before assuming which expenses or people are covered.
My school or residency plan is enough
Group disability coverage can be valuable without being complete or permanent.
My school or residency plan is enough
Group disability coverage can be valuable without being complete or permanent.
- Confirm the monthly benefit and how it coordinates with other coverage.
- Check the disability definition, elimination period, benefit period and exclusions.
- Ask what happens when you graduate, change hospitals, finish residency or leave the association.
- Understand whether you own a policy or participate under a group certificate while eligible.
Bottom line: The goal is not automatically to replace group disability coverage - it is to understand what it does and what happens at the next career transition.
My lender insured the debt
Coverage attached to a loan is designed around the debt agreement.
My lender insured the debt
Coverage attached to a loan is designed around the debt agreement.
- Ownership: the lender or group policyholder may control the master contract.
- Beneficiary: proceeds may be paid directly toward the insured balance rather than to you or your family.
- Coverage amount: the insured benefit may decline as the debt is repaid.
- Portability: refinancing or changing lenders may require a new application based on your health at that time.
- Evidence and claims: simplified application questions may still be reviewed against the certificate and medical information when a claim occurs.
- Price and continuation: rates, eligibility, limitations and cancellation provisions depend on the actual certificate.
Bottom line: Lender insurance is not automatically inappropriate. The question is whether it protects you in the way you expect. Review the certificate - not just the line item on the loan.
When you are ready
What the licensed review can include.
After you have a clearer sense of what deserves attention, the personal review and implementation process can continue without an in-person meeting.
Existing coverage can be reviewed, options explained, and the application and underwriting process coordinated through to any coverage you choose to complete.
- 01Review the starting point
- 02Consider the available options
- 03Coordinate application and underwriting
- 04Complete the coverage you choose
Personal recommendations, applications and implementation are handled directly by David Empey where he is appropriately licensed. Service availability is confirmed before the review.
Continue from here
Continue from here.
One next step. Choose whether you have a question, want a coverage review, or are ready to fast-track a fuller picture.
Already in the first year of independent practice? First-year student-program window
Your information is used to prepare a licensed follow-up. A personal recommendation or application follows only in a separate conversation.
If you want to go deeper
Questions physicians and those in training usually ask.
Open only what matters to you. The answers are general; the review applies them to your circumstances and existing coverage.
Do I need employment income to qualify?
Not always. Certain programs for medical students, residents and fellows may recognize the training stage and expected profession rather than requiring the same earned-income history used after entering practice. Eligibility, amounts and evidence requirements depend on the current program and individual circumstances.
Will I need a paramedical exam or blood and urine testing?
Some student pathways may begin with a health declaration, shorter questionnaire or simplified evidence of insurability. That does not guarantee approval or prevent the insurer from requesting more information. After the student or training-stage window changes, underwriting may include detailed medical and financial questions, an attending physician’s statement or other medical records, a telephone interview, a paramedical examination, and blood or urine testing.
What health information might be required?
Applications commonly ask about diagnoses, symptoms, medications, investigations, treatment, time away from school or work, and consultations with physicians or other providers. The exact questions depend on the insurer and application route. Complete and accurate disclosure is essential.
How much could disability insurance cost?
Cost depends on age, sex where permitted, smoking status, health, monthly benefit, elimination period, benefit period, occupational class and optional riders. Certain student programs may offer discounted pricing, waived initial premiums or a temporary premium holiday. These features are time-limited, vary by program and must be confirmed in a current illustration.
Are premiums guaranteed to age 65?
Certain individually owned professional disability policies offer a level premium schedule guaranteed to age 65, provided the coverage remains in force and premiums are paid. Because age is part of the original pricing, acting sooner can lock in a lower premium for the life of that coverage. The actual guarantee, renewal provisions and any future increases must be confirmed in the policy contract.
Could waiting affect whether coverage is available?
It can. Insurance is medically underwritten, so later symptoms, diagnoses, medications, investigations, treatment or time away from training can affect the outcome. The insurer may offer standard terms, charge a higher premium, exclude a condition or body part, reduce or modify coverage, postpone a decision, or decline the application. Applying earlier does not guarantee approval; the insurer still assesses the complete health history and other eligibility requirements.
Can I increase the coverage when my income rises?
Many professional disability policies can include a future increase option, but the rules differ. An increase may require proof of income, may be limited to specific option dates or events, and may depend on keeping the original policy and option in force. The contract wording controls.
How does personal coverage work with residency or association coverage?
The policies may coordinate, offset or limit the combined benefit. Group coverage can still be valuable, while personal coverage may add portability and individual contract rights. Both should be reviewed together rather than assuming one automatically replaces the other.
What if my health changes after a policy is issued?
Once an individual policy is issued and kept in force, later health changes generally do not cause the insurer to re-underwrite the existing contract. However, applying for new coverage or certain increases may require new evidence of insurability unless the contract provides a future increase option without new medical underwriting.
Is lender insurance the same as personally owned coverage?
No. Lender coverage is tied to the loan and governed by its certificate or group contract. The lender may receive the benefit, coverage may follow the outstanding balance, and changing lenders may affect continuation. Personally owned coverage is controlled through an individual contract and can be designed around broader needs.
Am I applying for insurance when I request a review?
No. The website only facilitates contact with a licensed insurance agent. An insurance application begins only if you later choose to proceed through the agent's separate process and knowingly complete the insurer’s application and consent requirements.
What happens after I request licensed contact?
A licensed insurance agent will identify themselves and their licensed firm when contacting you. The agent can then ask what is needed to understand your training stage and circumstances. No calculator snapshot, health history, policy document or insurance application is submitted through this website request.