Resources for New Graduates

At CDSPI, our mission is to meet the specific needs of the Canadian dental community. For over 60 years we have worked exclusively with dentists and dental students, so we understand both the challenges you face and the opportunities that lie ahead. The unbiased advice offered by our non-commissioned advisors^* has just one goal: To help you succeed and protect what’s most important to you at all stages of your career. Our interests are aligned with yours – you are at the heart of everything we do.

Plus, as a not-for-profit organization, we do not have shareholders. This means we pass on positive results to you. This structure has allowed us to provide no-cost insurance to students, reduced premiums for new graduates, and preferred rates to our clients. In some years, premiums for certain products have even gone down!

Our commitment to the dental community also extends beyond the products and solutions we offer. We are passionate about giving back through our Members’ Assistance Program (MAP), which offers short-term counseling, referrals, information and support systems for your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. We know that supporting your health goes hand in hand with supporting your career, your financial needs and your family.

There are many factors that can influence the premium of an insurance policy. As you compare policies, it’s important to understand the answers to the following questions:

• Are the elimination periods the same?
• Is the amount of coverage the same?
• What is the premium structure? For instance, is it a step or level structure?
• What additional options exist within the plan?
• Is there a future insurance guarantee? What's this?
• Is there a cost of living adjustment? If so, what is the indexing percentage?

 
Some of these questions may be difficult to answer on your own. One of our insurance advisors would be happy to walk through your policy so you can understand what it includes. Call 1-800-561-9401 to speak with an advisor or email us at insurance@cdspi.com.

At CDSPI, we are always speaking with our clients and looking for feedback. That’s why we enhanced our disability policy to include features that dentists asked for and need most, including:

• The option for guaranteed rates until age 65: you can still choose a step-rate system if premiums are a challenge. With this system, you pay lower premiums when you’re younger and higher premiums as you get older).
• A higher maximum benefit payout: it increased to $25,000 from $12,000
• Own occupation included at no additional cost. This means your disability is determined by your inability to perform the duties of your specific occupation – not simply any paid employment you might be qualified for
• Future Insurance Guarantee: this is the ability to increase your coverage without evidence of good health. No medical questions or testing required.

We’re happy to discuss our policy features with you at any time. Call 1-800-561-9401 to speak with one of our advisors.

Step and Level premiums apply to our DisabilityGuard™ Insurance.

A Step premium provides you with a premium that increases in 5-year age bands – you will know the premium rates from when you are approved for your policy up to age 65.

You may consider a Step premium if you’d like to start out by paying a lower premium and have the premium increase as your age increases – which is when your income is also more likely to increase.

A Level premium, meanwhile, involves you paying the same premium until the January after you turn 65. The premium will be higher to begin with, but it won’t increase as you age.

You may want to consider a Level premium if you prefer paying a consistent premium until age 65. Your premiums will change to Step rates for ages 65-69 and 70-74.

Whichever option you choose, your premiums are guaranteed until age 65. Starting the January after you turn 65, you will have guaranteed Step rates from ages 65-69; and then when you turn 70, your rates from 70-74 will also be guaranteed.

While you’re in an undergraduate dentistry program, your CDSPI student insurance plan is available at no cost.  Once you graduate, you’re entitled to a 50% premium reduction on life, accident and office insurance for three years after graduation (the three-year period begins the January after you graduate). You’ll also be eligible for a 15% lifetime premium reduction on disability insurance.

If you are pursuing graduate studies or a residency and paying your insurance premiums is a financial strain, there is an option to put your policy on hold for 6 months to 3 years. Keep in mind, there are implications to putting your DisabilityGuard™ Insurance policy on hold. For example, if you become disabled during that time, you aren’t covered and won’t receive any benefits.

Once your coverage is on hold, you won’t be able to reinstate it early without medical evidence – it’s therefore a good idea to speak with a CDSPI advisor to determine a hold period that’s right for you.

Yes, you can have coverage with more than one company and in fact many people do. If you do have insurance in multiple places, however, we recommend gaining an understanding of how benefits are paid out with each provider.

When you have insurance with more than one provider, some companies consider all policies when paying benefits. With our CDSPI DisabilityGuard™ Insurance plan, however, the policy pays out regardless of whether you have a disability policy elsewhere in the event of total disability*.

*Partial disability payments are based on your income loss.

An elimination period is basically a waiting period. It is the amount of time that must elapse from the first day of your disability to the day you can begin receiving benefits.

CDSPI offers one of the shortest elimination periods available for disability insurance – 30 days – which gives you access to your benefits as soon as possible.

You are able to change your waiting period, and it’s one way to reduce your premiums – generally, the longer the waiting period, the lower your premium.

If you’re comparing insurance plans from different companies, it’s important to know what the elimination/ waiting period is for each one, so you’re making an accurate comparison. And if you’re considering extending your elimination period in order to reduce your premium, it’s worth asking yourself how you would get by without your income for 30, 60 or 90 days. If you couldn’t pay your bills without your income, a 30-day elimination period may be worth the extra premium.

In general, the longer the waiting period, the lower your premium will be. As there are a number of factors that influence the amount of your premiums, we have provided a few examples to give you a general idea of how the waiting period affects what you pay.

The below amounts are based on $3,500, with Own Occupation, Cost of Living Adjustment, and Future Insurance Guarantee options, being a non-smoker, HealthEdge rates annual premiums, and before the lifetime 15% new graduate reduction in premium.

CDSPI offers students a comprehensive package designed to protect you in a number of ways. While you are a student, this package comes at no cost to you, so it’s to your benefit to keep the whole package.

If, after graduation, you no longer want the full package, you are free to make changes to suit your needs. We recommend calling an insurance advisor before making any changes, so they can help you make the best insurance choices for your individual situation.  Keep in mind, should you cancel your CDSPI coverage and re-apply later, you will lose out on the reduced premiums you’re entitled to today.

CDSPI offers the option to put your plan on hold for six months to three years. During this period, you do not have to pay premiums – at the same time, however, you will not have coverage. Once your coverage is on hold, you won’t be able to reinstate it early without medical evidence – it’s therefore a good idea to speak with a CDSPI advisor to determine a hold period that’s right for you.

If you have Basic Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment and/or DisabilityGuard™ Insurance, you can keep any and all of these policies as long as you move within Canada or the U.S. If you move to the U.S., you cannot increase coverage except under the Future Income Guarantee option.

There are a few ways you can lower your insurance premium:

• Lengthen the elimination period
• Adjust and/or reduce the amount of coverage you have
• Remove some of the options that come with your plan

 
We recommend speaking with one of our insurance advisors before making any changes to your plan, as they can help you make the best decisions for your individual situation. Call 1-800-561-9401 to speak with an advisor or email us at insurance@cdspi.com.

An insurance plan from CDSPI is backed by the group purchasing power of Canadian dentists. With the support of the dental community behind us we can negotiate with the insurers to obtain competitive pricing and features important to dentists.

Plus, CDSPI works exclusively with dentists and dental students, so we understand your unique needs, risks and opportunities. Our non-commissioned insurance advisors are dedicated to supporting you with the advice and solutions that will protect you today and throughout your career.