Short answer
It's the strongest definition of disability a policy can have. It covers you for the material and substantial duties of your specialty or subspecialty. If you can't do those, you can collect in full, even while earning a paycheck doing something else.
A short clip from his webinar for residents and fellows, with captions.
Watch the full webinar from 1:48The most important feature in a policy
Arguably the most important feature in a disability policy is the definition of total disability, or own-occupation. Think of it as the litmus test the insurance company uses to decide whether you can collect if something happens to you.
It isn't one-size-fits-all. I could show you five policies from five companies with five different definitions. It's specific to the company and the policy, and no two are exactly the same.
What the highest level covers
Medical specialty specific true own-occupation covers you for the material and substantial duties of your specialty or subspecialty. Say you're a surgeon and something happens so you can no longer operate. You'd be able to collect in full, even if you work in a non-operative setting, go into another type of medicine, work for a pharmaceutical or device company, or leave medicine entirely.
Very few policies have this level of own-occupation. Many change one or two words in the definition, which can make it hard or impossible to collect.
What to avoid: "any gainful occupation"
At the bottom of the scale is "any gainful occupation." If you can perform the duties of any gainful occupation, you can't collect. This wording is common in group disability policies from employers, and shows up in a few individual policies. In over 25 years I've yet to meet a physician who was comfortable with it.
Where Jay covers this
Jump to each moment in his webinars.