Is your insurance know-how up to date?

Navigating the numerous types of insurance out there can be a confusing and even overwhelming process. The layperson’s summary below will hopefully make this a less daunting task. 

Life insurance pays your loved ones a lump sum in the event you pass away before a certain age. For example, Doctors of BC offers plans with a payout of up to $5 000 000 in the event of death before age 75, as well as options to be covered permanently (i.e., until you pass away, at whatever age). 

Disability insurance pays you monthly if you are no longer able to earn an income (or your full income). The BC government provides “free” coverage for physicians with a payout of up to $6100 monthly, but a disability income insurance plan could get you up to an additional $18 900 monthly (as offered by Doctors of BC). 

Critical illness insurance pays you a lump sum if you receive a critical diagnosis like cancer or Alzheimer disease. For example, Doctors of BC offers plans that cover 25 critical conditions with a payout of up to $250 000.

Professional expense insurance, going a step beyond disability insurance, reimburses you monthly for professional expenses (office rent, employee salaries, accounting fees, association dues, etc.) when you face a disability. With a Doctors of BC plan, for example, you could be reimbursed up to $20 000 monthly for 15 months.

Accidental death and dismemberment insurance pays a lump sum to you in the event of an accident costing you a body part, or to your loved one if you pass away due to an accident. 

Insurance policies include many details (the fine print) and optional add-ons (riders). For personalized information to suit your needs, contact Doctors of BC at 604 638-2904 or insurance@doctorsofbc.ca to speak with a licensed, noncommissioned insurance advisor. 
—Jessie Wang
Medical Student Intern, Doctors of BC

Jessie Wang. Is your insurance know-how up to date?. BCMJ, Vol. 61, No. 1, January, February, 2019, Page(s) 44 - News.



Above is the information needed to cite this article in your paper or presentation. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends the following citation style, which is the now nearly universally accepted citation style for scientific papers:
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347:284-7.

About the ICMJE and citation styles

The ICMJE is small group of editors of general medical journals who first met informally in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1978 to establish guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to their journals. The group became known as the Vancouver Group. Its requirements for manuscripts, including formats for bibliographic references developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), were first published in 1979. The Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which meets annually. The ICMJE created the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals to help authors and editors create and distribute accurate, clear, easily accessible reports of biomedical studies.

An alternate version of ICMJE style is to additionally list the month an issue number, but since most journals use continuous pagination, the shorter form provides sufficient information to locate the reference. The NLM now lists all authors.

BCMJ standard citation style is a slight modification of the ICMJE/NLM style, as follows:

  • Only the first three authors are listed, followed by "et al."
  • There is no period after the journal name.
  • Page numbers are not abbreviated.


For more information on the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, visit www.icmje.org

BCMJ Guidelines for Authors

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