Disability Insurance Articles
How Disability Insurance Rates Determine Disability Benefits
2010-09-27
When trying to control your disability insurance rates, it's important to think about disability benefits, as they have a direct effect on the premiums that you'll pay each month for your coverage. The greater the disability benefits on your plan, the more that you'll pay, but there are several ways to get respectable benefits without sacrificing the coverage that you need to stay protected. Before looking into these methods, however, you'll need to consider a few of the following facts.
First of all, disability benefits are usually related to your wages. Standard disability insurance policies will provide a percentage of your income if you become disabled through an injury or a debilitating condition and you're unable to work. The exact percentage offered by the policy will depend on your insurance contract, but most policies offer somewhere around 40% of your income. When your disability benefits start, you will no longer have to pay for your policy's premiums, but as soon as the benefits end you'll have to start paying them again. The purpose of disability insurance is to help you pay for living expenses while you're injured, not to cover the costs of medical bills and other treatments, so keep this in mind when selecting your disability benefits. It's a good idea to make a monthly budget, and consider what amount of money you'll need to get by for an injury or condition that lasts for several months. Some policy holders will need larger benefits, but again, larger benefits come with higher disability insurance rates. There can also be limits to the payouts on your policy; your disability insurance benefits may end after a certain number of months or after a certain sum has been reached. Be sure to consider these limits when looking for a policy, especially if you're trying to find a policy that offers lifelong coverage (these policies may be extremely expensive).
In order to keep your disability insurance rates low when buying a new policy, make sure that you're as healthy as possible. Visit your doctor, and ask for advice on disability insurance. You may be able to take preventive and diagnostic medical tests that can help you to find lower rates. You should also look at a wide range of disability insurance quotes from different insurance providers. Get quotes for different amounts of coverage, as this will allow you to see the differences in rates for various benefit levels. This may make it easier to select a policy that you can afford, but which provides enough coverage to keep you protected in the event of a disability.