Disability Insurance Articles

Finding Disability Insurance That Meets A Variety Of Injury Needs

2011-02-23

Shopping for disability insurance quotes is a very important step in protecting you and your family in the event that you become disabled. It is important to review disability insurance options that will cover a variety of injuries so that you are not forced to pay for expenses out of pocket or lose out on income that, in extreme cases, can lead to bankruptcy or home foreclosures.

If you are not self-employed, the first step to making sure you are properly covered is to determine whether or not your employer provides long-term disability insurance. Many employers that do have policies that will be able to cover you for at least up to five years but this still may not be enough. Group plans offered by companies will typically cover about 60% of your income which can be offset by other benefits you may receive from sources such as workman's comp. But there may be a monthly cap on how much you can receive which can lower the expected amount and bonuses are not typically taken into consideration. You also need to review how long your group plan will pay your benefits; it may be just two years. If you cannot return to your job after that amount of time, they are probably expecting you to attempt to find another job you can do. This is why you may want to consider looking into supplemental disability insurance options which can allow you to receive up to 80% of your income. You would be hard pressed to find a plan that will cover 100%, as insurers view that as a complete lack of motivation for those covered to try to find gainful employment.

You also need to make sure you are covered for short term disruptions that may affect your ability to receive income. This is essentially paid sick-leave that kicks in as soon as you are unable to come into work. The amount of sick-leave you receive each year varies and could be a very short amount. Many companies will offer longer amounts to those who have been with the company for a longer amount of time.

You can get disability insurance quotes from just about any major insurance carrier. But it is important to know what you need before you start looking at prices. Plan around the fact that there will be a certain amount of time that has to pass before you can receive payments after you have applied. It may be as many as several months so it is best to have some money saved up so that you are not stuck with bills you cannot pay.