Some specialties and subspecialties are considered more hazardous than others. Therefore, different specialties will typically include different premiums. Premiums of policies are determined based on your specialty at the time of application.
For example, if you obtain a policy as an Internal Medicine resident, your policy will be priced for Internal Medicine. If you have secured a policy and then enter a fellowship for Interventional Cardiology, the premiums on your plan will not change even though Interventional Cardiology has a greater disability risk. This policy will also continue to cover you even if you change specialties. At the time of claim, the carrier will review the duties and specialty you were performing up to 12 months prior to that disability. If you were performing Interventional Cardiology at the time of claim, you are expected to be covered as an Interventional Cardiologist even if you obtained this policy as an Internal Medicine resident.