Disability Insurance Articles

Evaluating Elimination Periods When Looking For Disability Insurance Quotes

2012-01-18

Disability insurance benefits can be a great way to protect against the costs of a long-term injury that occurs due to a home or workplace accident. The treatments associated with such a disability can often be expensive over the long term, and trying to defray the costs without any active insurance benefits can be difficult. Fortunately, disability insurance quotes are now available from a wide range of companies and with a broad variety of options that cater to any need. One of the most important aspects of any disability insurance quote is its elimination period. This is important to consider and compare before any policy is purchased.

The term elimination period refers to the period of time that must elapse before any money will be paid for a disability claim. If the disability disappears or is resolved prior to the elimination period elapsing, no money will be paid. This is not a general waiting period as with health care; any disability is subject to the waiting period that a company has in place. While there is no government standard for how long or short an elimination period must be, the industry standard is currently 90 days. This does not mean other options do not exist, or that companies cannot offer different choices, but merely that it is the most common length. It is important to understand that during any elimination period, no benefits of any kind will be paid for a disability and a client is on his or her own to pay for treatments through a personal insurance plan or with some kind of short-term disability protection.

When looking at disability insurance quotes, it is always important to ask what length of elimination period comes with the policy. Although 90 days is the standard, these periods can be as short as 30 days or as long as two years; the longer the period, the lower the cost of the plan for a client, as it means a longer period of time in which the insurance company will not be paying out for coverage. While a 30 day elimination period will provide benefits much sooner than any other option, for example, it will be far more expensive because a company will view that client as high risk, and because payment will start almost right away. If it all possible, a median elimination period should be sought. If a disability lasts too long, it may become overwhelming without care; if the elimination period is too short, the cost of benefits will be too high.

Although disability insurance benefits can come with a significant cost, it can be mitigated by the comparison of elimination periods and finding one that matches needs.