Short answer
Usually not on its own. Group policies are often taxable, tied to your job and capped, and many use "any gainful occupation" wording. An individual policy should be your primary line of defense, with the group policy layered behind it.
A short clip from his webinar for residents and fellows, with captions.
Watch the full webinar from 5:47Four differences to look at
Taxation. You pay for an individual policy with after-tax dollars, so if you need to collect, the benefits come in tax-free. Employers typically pay for group policies, so the benefits are taxable. There are exceptions, but they're few and far between.
Portability. An individual policy is yours. You bring it with you for the next 20 or 30 years, wherever you work. A group policy is usually tethered to your job. If you change employers, it likely won't travel with you.
Contract language. Put a comprehensive individual policy next to the run-of-the-mill group policy and it's night and day on wording and features.
Coverage caps. This matters most once you're an attending, and it's easy to miss.
"60% of your income" usually isn't
Group policies often say they cover 60% of your income. Dig deeper and there's typically a cap: 60% with a cap of $5,000 a month, or $10,000 a month. As an attending, you're really covered for the cap, not 60% of your income. Those benefits are likely taxable, you probably can't take the policy with you, and if you can perform the duties of any gainful occupation, you may not be able to collect.
That's why you want an individual policy as your primary line of defense, with any group policy layered behind it.
Where Jay covers this
Jump to each moment in his webinars.