Disability Insurance Articles

3 Similarities Between Disability Insurance And Workers Compensation

2010-11-05

Insurance is an important purchase for any individual or family as it protects against financial loss for a variety of items. Insurance can be purchased to protect a home, vehicle, life, or the health of a person. Most people work for a living and if they should suffer a debilitating illness, disease, or injury that renders them unable to work for a brief period of time or permanently, the loss of potential wages can be devastating. There are several insurance options available that will protect a person if one of these events should happen. Disability insurance and workers compensation are just two options available. These coverages have many differences but they are similar in a few ways as well.

Both disability insurance and workers compensation are available to individuals who have been injured on the job. Coverage under each plan includes reimbursement of medical expenses, loss of wages, and funeral benefits that are payable to a victim's family should an injury on the job actually result in death.

Disability insurance comes in several forms including sick pay, long term, and short term disability. The severity of an injury and the projected time away from the job will determine which of these two benefits will pay out. Workers compensation is not available for those who are injured so severely that they cannot ever work again. It is only meant to cover temporary disabilities from which the individual is expected to recover from and eventually return back to work.

If you have short term disability coverage, there is a waiting period applied before you can start collecting benefits. This is also true with workers compensation. The waiting period starts from the first day that you are unable to work because of an illness you have sustained while on the job. A waiting period is beneficial because it discourages small injury claims and helps to keep the premiums low and the paperwork to a minimum. These waiting periods encourage the injured party to return back to work as soon as possible if their injury is not too severe as they will want to avoid losing too much in wages. Most people do not want to have to wait a lengthy period of time before they collect benefits.

No matter where you work, whether it be in an office setting or in a factory, there is always a possibility of sustaining an injury that can prevent you from performing your duties and thus affect your financial situation. Many insurance options are available through employers or private insurance companies. Check out all available choices in order to make sure that you are adequately covered in case of an unforeseen and sudden accident.