Disability Insurance Articles
Individual Disability Insurance And Who Can Benefit From It
2010-09-05
If you want protection for yourself and are considering purchasing your own individual insurance, you should be aware it will not provide you with the total coverage you might require should you become disabled. Only disability insurance can provide you with an income should you become incapable of performing your job function. There are many policies and plans available that can offer this type of coverage. You need to know the benefits to obtaining individual disability insurance as many people can benefit from its protection.
Regular life insurance will pay upon your death. If you simply become disabled, life insurance will not help you pay for everyday bills and needs. You will need to still have money coming in to cover these items. An individual disability policy can replace up to 60 percent of your monthly income tax free. For many people this is enough to pay their mortgage, car notes and other expenses. Although 60 percent may not seem adequate- because you are not paying taxes it may be more than you realize.
If you are declared disabled, there is a waiting period that will apply before you receive your first check. Many policies vary from a time of 60 - 90 days up to 360 days. It all depends on the policy that is offered by the company and what policy you actually purchase. You will need to keep in mind that while you are waiting for the funds you will need to still be able to pay your bills. You will need to have some money saved. The cost of the coverage will depend on the waiting period. Usually the longer you can wait, the higher your payout will be.
Be careful to read the fine print. Some policies pay for a partial disability, while others will only make payments if the insured person is declared completely disabled. You also want to know how long the payments will occur. You don't want any surprises to prevent you from getting paid.
Disability insurance can provide you with coverage to protect you and your family in the event you can no longer perform your job. There are many additional options you can get on your individual insurance policy. One of these is a cost of living increase. Another might protect your future income. As with many of these additional benefits it will increase the payments you make to obtain additional coverage. You will need to decide what is most important to you in the event you do become disabled. If this does occur, you won't be able to go back and add it later.