Short answer
It lets you increase your coverage later, for example when you start earning attending pay, without answering health questions. Next to own-occupation wording, it's the most important feature to have on a policy you get in training.
A short clip from his webinar for residents and fellows, with captions.
Watch the full webinar from 10:39Why it's worth its weight in gold
Aside from own-occupation, the other really important feature to get as a resident or fellow is what I call, in generic terms, the balloon option or flex-up feature. Some companies call it the future increase option.
Nobody has a crystal ball for what their health will be in three, five or ten years. With this feature, you put the insurance company on the hook to give you more coverage later, regardless of what happens to your health in the meantime.
How it works in practice
You get a low-cost, low-coverage policy now. When you mature personally and professionally and want more coverage to match your attending income, you increase it without new health questions.
Different companies word this differently. Some do it well and others don't, so it's worth checking how a policy handles it.
Limits to know about
Most GSI policies cap how high you can increase your coverage. That cap is commonly at or around $15,000 a month. Some are higher and some lower. As a resident or fellow the cap doesn't come into play; it matters when you're about to be an attending.
Where Jay covers this
Jump to each moment in his webinars.