Disability Insurance Articles
Disability Insurance And Group Health Care Plans And How They Interact
2010-10-15
Many Americans are a part of a group health care plan, and many of these individuals also have disability insurance. To the uneducated buyer, this may seem unnecessary; many assume that a group health care plan will contain many of the protections of a disability insurance policy, but unfortunately, this is not the case. There is actually very little overlap between disability and group health care insurance. It is important to understand why this is when looking for disability insurance quotes in order to avoid potentially bad deals.
First, make sure to understand the function of disability insurance. While a group health care plan will pay for the medical costs of an illness or condition that prevents a person from working, disability insurance will pay a portion of that person's wages until he or she can work again. In most plans, disability insurance covers about two-thirds of a policyholder's paycheck, sometimes less. Coverage levels vary by policyholder and insurance provider, as does the number of weeks that disability insurance will stay active before expiring (at which point payments to the disabled individual will end). Some group health care plans include a disability insurance element to them, particularly group health care plans through unions. In most cases, disability insurance is not treated as an add-on to health care coverage, but rather a completely separate form of insurance.
Some disability insurance policies have very high levels of coverage, and in very exceptional cases, there may be some overlap between the coverages of a private disability insurance policy and a group health plan. When this is the case, the health insurance plan will usually kick in after the coverage provided by the disability plan has been completely exhausted. Again, this can vary by the insurance provider. To find out how coverage will act in the case of double-coverage, policyholders should call their health insurance agents to discuss the matter. It can be very important to find out how coverage will act before a claim is made on either policy.
Having a good group health insurance plan may make it easier to find low disability insurance quotes. This is particularly true when looking for group disability insurance quotes, but all policyholders can benefit from presenting proof of health insurance and a clean bill of health to disability insurance quote providers. Finding a great quote is easy, thanks to online quote websites. Moreover, regardless of whether you have a group health insurance or private health insurance coverage, disability insurance can be a great supplement plan to keep you protected in the event of an unexpected illness or injury.