Doctors Financial Planning Guide

Doctors are a specific financial demographic: earning starts late (early 30s post-specialisation), income rises fast, protection is chronically under-purchased, and professional indemnity is often mispriced. The plan has to reflect all four.

One — Front-load retirement. A decade of earning is already gone by the time practice stabilises. The SIP step-up ratio matters more than the starting amount. Every increment in consulting fee should route a fixed percentage to equity before lifestyle absorbs it.

Two — Own-occupation disability cover. A surgeon who cannot operate is disabled even if she can teach. Standard disability policies pay only for total loss; a doctor needs an own-occupation or specialty-specific rider, priced accordingly.

Three — Professional indemnity sized to specialty. Anaesthesia, obstetrics and surgery carry higher claim severities than general practice. IMA-negotiated group policies are a floor; individual top-ups are the real cover.

Four — Practice as a business. Incorporate the practice or clinic, separate personal and professional balance sheets, build a corporate-owned keyman policy, and route retained earnings into a family investment company where appropriate.

Five — Legacy. High income without structured succession is the single most common wealth-loss pattern in Indian medical families. A Will, a Trust for minor children, and an MWPA-endorsed term policy are non-negotiable.