By Dr. Jim Dahle, WCI Founder

The WCI staff knows there is nothing that bothers me more than a suggestion that we are selling out doctors. While The White Coat Investor is a successful, for-profit media company with a plethora of conflicts of interest (which we fully disclose each year), its owners have had little need for its profits for a long time. While we definitely still spend some of those profits and save a bunch of them, making more money doesn't get us up in the morning. The WCI mission does.

Our vision is:

“To serve as the most trusted, authoritative, and useful resource for financial information and services for doctors and other high earners.”

Not only is being trustworthy the right thing to do, but we know your trust is our most valuable asset. So, we never do anything intentionally that would lower that trust level.

 

Disability Insurance Declines Get Me Fired Up

I hate seeing doctors get declined when they apply for disability insurance. It's not necessarily a financial catastrophe, because two things have to happen for a financial catastrophe to occur. First, you have to not get disability insurance (either because you didn't bother or because you couldn't), and then you have to actually get disabled while you still need that insurance. I spend a lot of time and effort telling doctors to buy disability insurance. We also spend a lot of time and effort educating doctors and working with insurance agents and the insurance companies themselves to try to reduce the number of declines. And for those who have no choice, we help you to not need that disability insurance as quickly as possible.

Declines do happen, of course. And every time I hear about one that happened to a doc working with one of our recommended agents, we dive into it and try to figure out what happened. The usual story is that the doctor “failed to disclose” a relevant medical condition to the agent doing the application. I don't think most doctors are deliberately lying. I think they usually think their “medical condition” is a nothing-burger and that there is no way the insurance company—much less the agent—would care, even if they somehow miraculously found out about it.

What those docs discover, sometimes too late, is that the insurance company underwriters care a lot more about their nothing-burger than they (and their physician) do and that the underwriters have access to a lot more data than they thought (like prescription records). Either way, a tragedy may result. That tragedy might be actually getting disabled without ever getting disability insurance. It might also just be that they would have been eligible for a Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) policy without that decline.

More information here:

Why You Need Disability Insurance (and I Need Shoulder Pads)

The Physician’s Guide to the Best Disability Insurance Companies

 

What We're Doing to Reduce Declines

Our approach has been two-fold.

First, we teach our community how to buy disability insurance. Buy it early before you develop medical problems. Be honest with the agent and on the application. Think hard about any past medical history you have had so you don't forget anything. If there is something, have the agent shop you around to underwriters informally before applying. If it appears there could be an issue with a decline, see if you're eligible for a GSI policy through your institution. It might not be quite as good or as cheap as a fully underwritten policy, but you'll have coverage.

Second, we partner with the most experienced agents of the highest integrity we can find and emphasize to them how important it is to us that they get as few declines as possible. They ask a lot of medical screening questions. They shop your case around informally to the various insurance company underwriters. They refer you to an appropriate GSI-providing agent when appropriate, even when that means (as it often does) that they don't get paid a commission for the policy sale.

As discussed in our state of the blog posts, WCI even started an insurance agency a while back. We don't sell any policies directly, but this structure allows us to get paid fairly for referrals to our partnering agents. It also allows us access to enough data to make sure WCIers are being treated right. Those efforts have really paid off; WCIers have never been treated better by the agents we refer to than they are now. In fact, the data shows that doctors are far less likely to get a decline if they use a WCI-recommended agent. That's not because the agents somehow massage the application and get policies for people who shouldn't be insured. It's because they prioritize the right policy for the right doctor.

Sometimes, that involves selling them a fully underwritten policy. Sometimes, that means referring them out the door (often with their commission) for a GSI policy. Sometimes, that means methodically applying to the company that is most likely not to decline them.

How much less likely are you to be declined by using a WCI-recommended agent? The answer is 65% less likely. That's huge. The decline rate for our agents is only 7%.

Don't get me wrong. I'd like to see it lower. We're going to continue to work hard both with our community and our partners to get it lower. But it isn't going to go to 0%. Doctors will continue to “fail to disclose.” New medical conditions will continue to show up on the physical and lab tests. Applicants without access to a GSI policy (or who already have one) will continue to take a chance on a fully underwritten policy.

More information here:

Why Do Some Doctors Get Declined for Disability Insurance?

Can You Still Get Disability Insurance with Your Health History?

 

Hammered on Social Media

You can imagine my frustration when, despite all of these efforts, I still see comments on social media that suggest we're somehow selling out doctors when it comes to disability insurance. Sometimes, they're from a doctor who just got declined and is understandably upset. Sometimes, they're from someone who competes with us on some business line or partners with one of our competitors. Here are a couple of examples:

“Can we talk about the disability insurance scam white coat investor is currently pushing? Creating their own insurance agency to piggy back commission and only pushing medically underwritten plans over GSI plans because they were banned from GSI on principle (sic)/guardian/etc. Even at the expense/inexperience of the physicians who trust their platform for advice.”

This one turned out to be written by a doc who “failed to disclose” but who was apparently unaware that WCI created an insurance agency and decided it had to be a “scam.” He was certainly mistaken that we “only push medically underwritten plans over GSI policies.” And he has no idea what he is talking about with “bans.” Insurance companies generally require an agent to ONLY show options from their company if they want to get paid to sell GSI policies to members of a given institution. We don't think that's the right approach, so we (and our recommended agents) are willing to forgo those commissions, when required, so we can show all the options.

Here's another one from a competitor.

“I’m all for folks making money. I wanna make money too. We all do and should. But I am sick and tired of brands like WCI and ***** doing a half-assed job as they’ve drifted into the physician disability insurance space. Oh and I’ve had private conversations with both of these guys and yet the problems persist. They lack experience, haven’t taken the time to develop important relationships with the insurance companies and fellow agencies (and therefore are largely unable to access the GSI market), and are very quote engine driven. You know what that results in? Too fast of a process and not taking the time to do it right. And statements like: ‘GSI is too expensive, most people don’t need it anyway.'  . . . Tell that to . . . physicians [who have] been denied coverage through a fully underwritten policy application, even though they are at a program that OFFERS A GSI! (A GSI means they could’ve gotten coverage with 0% chance of denial for medical reasons) . . . But don’t suck at the job you’re taking on!! People gotta know what they’re doing so docs don’t get hurt when it can be avoided!

The post included this graphic:

Disability insurance declines

That graphic fired me up. I hope it fires you up to see it. I sent it off our staff to figure out what our decline rate is. Turns out it's nowhere near 19%. It's 7%. That's 65% lower. Dramatically better. Still room for improvement? Sure. But that number isn't going to 0%, and it may never get much lower than 7%. Our partnering agents should feel very proud of 7%. I'm proud of them, and I hope you are, too.

We hardly “drifted” into the physician disability space. We probably refer more doctors for disability insurance than anyone else, and we have been doing so for more than a decade. Our partnering agents are some of the top-selling agents in the disability insurance industry. They certainly don't lack experience. While we can't always get paid to sell a GSI policy, we'll still refer you to get one if it is appropriate for you.

 

A Statement

We decided to put out a formal, public statement on this topic. Here it is:

“There’s been a lot said recently about how disability insurance is being handled, particularly at White Coat Investor. Let’s clear it up with facts, integrity, and data.

We’ve spent years earning the trust of the physician community, and we take that responsibility seriously. We will not compromise that trust.

We’ve partnered with top agents in the disability insurance industry, individuals who know this space better than anyone and are aligned with our mission. Every agent we endorse has been thoroughly vetted. We’ve made changes over time to make sure that white coat investors are being served well by the agents we partner with, and we have even removed agents from the platform as required.

Some have questioned why we’re not participating directly in more Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) programs directly. Here's why: Many GSI programs require exclusivity, meaning agents can only show policies from one company to their clients, regardless of whether it's the best fit for the doctor. That doesn’t align with our mission.

At WCI, our commitment is to show all the major carriers, educate without bias, and help each physician make the best decision for their individual situation, whether that’s GSI or fully underwritten. And if the right call is to send someone to a GSI program that we don’t get compensated for, we are 100% OK with that. That’s the commitment we’ve made to the WCI community.

In fact, we’ve given up hundreds of cases to GSI programs just in the last year for the sake of doing what’s right.

We want to avoid declines, and that starts with transparency. Thorough medical questions are a standard part of the process with our vetted agents, not a rare exception. In some cases, agents have identified that a fully underwritten policy was the most appropriate option based on the applicant’s disclosed circumstances. Unfortunately, there have been situations where applicants failed to disclose medications or pre-existing conditions, which led to modifications or declines during underwriting. These outcomes were not the result of agent error but rather incomplete disclosure by the applicant, and they were entirely avoidable. Dr. Dahle has written extensively about this, emphasizing that full honesty in the application process is critical. While GSI isn’t always available, integrity and transparency always are. We remain fully committed to both.

Our decline rate is only 7%, compared to an industry average of 19% across the major carriers, approximately 65% lower. That’s not because we’re getting medically uninsurable applicants approved. It’s because we ask the right medical questions up front and help applicants choose the best path forward. We believe in giving people choices, not pushing one path. By understanding each applicant’s situation early and guiding them accordingly, we reduce surprises and increase approvals. And we’re still improving, working to lower that number even further through better screening and smarter processes.

This isn’t a side hustle for us. It’s not a volume game. It’s a long-term commitment to helping physicians protect their income and families the right way.

We believe there’s room in this space for all professionals who genuinely care about helping physicians protect their income. The more voices educating on the importance of disability insurance, the better. Our focus remains on serving doctors with clarity, integrity, and respect, and we hope others share that same commitment to elevating the conversation and putting physicians first.

We don’t cut corners. We don’t hide the fine print. We don’t play favorites with carriers. We do what’s right, even when it costs us financially.

That’s the standard we hold ourselves to, and that’s what doctors deserve.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jim Dahle, Brett Stevens, Travis Christy

White Coat Investor — White Coat Insurance Services

Here's the bottom line. If you need disability insurance, buy disability insurance. Now. If you want the most experienced agents with the highest integrity that can be found, we suggest you start at https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/insurance. Be honest with them and on your application. Strategize with them as to the best policy for you. Let us know (preferably privately) when we let you down, and we'll continue to improve.

What do you think? Did you buy disability insurance? Why or why not? Did you ever have to use yours?