Disability Insurance Articles
Three Ways To Reduce The Cost Of Disability Insurance
2010-10-05
A disability insurance policy can be extremely helpful if you're injured or if a disease or condition prevents you from working. However, the premium costs of these policies can make them unaffordable to some people, especially workers in high risk occupations. There are a number of ways to reduce your policy premiums and lessen the effect of the policy on your budget.
Many disability insurance buyers try to cut the cost of their policies by cutting their coverage. This can be an effective way to lower your premiums. It's important to keep coverage of about 50-70% of your income on your disability insurance policy or whatever you'll need to survive if you're unable to work. If you're already buying the minimum amount of coverage that you'd need to live comfortably, decreasing your policy coverage isn't an option. Instead, try asking your employer to put you on a group disability insurance policy at work. This can decrease your premium costs without ruining your disability insurance coverage. You can also lower your benefit period if it's excessively high, or change your waiting period to a longer period of time. Again, make sure that your disability insurance will still be useful, or don't make any changes to your policy at all.
It's also possible to get discounted premium rates on your disability insurance policy in some cases, particularly if your health or occupation has changed recently. When there are any significant changes in your life, you should contact your disability insurance company to ask for a lower premium. You may even be able to get a lower premium simply by calling up your insurance company and speaking with them for a while.
The best way to reduce your disability insurance premium rates is to gather quotes online, either before a policy begins or while your policy is active. Look for disability insurance rates from a variety of insurance providers, and actually read the quotes; this will help you to understand why your premiums are priced as they are, and you'll quickly be able to determine whether you've been paying too much for your coverage. Consider switching to a less expensive disability insurance policy if you find lower rates, but first try negotiating with your disability insurance agent. Have the other quotes ready to fax or email to your agent, and remain polite and calm (yet firm) when asking for a reduce premium rate. This method should work regardless of how long you've had your policy, and by gathering disability insurance quotes beforehand, you'll stand a great chance of getting discounted premium rates without diminishing your coverage benefits.