Disability Insurance Articles

Types Of Occupations Considered High Risk By Disability Insurance Providers

2011-06-01

If you have a high-risk occupation, the cost of disability insurance will be much higher than for other kinds of employees. Unfortunately, disability is even more essential for those who have to pay more for it and it is very unwise to have a dangerous job without it. It is important to understand how insurers decide which jobs are considered high risk if you are contemplating entering these fields.

How To Determine Risk

Insurance companies assign a certain level of risk to a profession when determining how much to charge for disability insurance for that field. By looking at the risk level, they determine how likely it is that they will have to pay out to cover damages sustained while on the job. Since the goal of insurance companies is to not lose money with each payout, if the risk is high, the premium will be too.

Insurance companies rely on information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to determine which jobs are the most dangerous. The list is based on the ratio between deaths and the total number of people employed in the profession. Sedentary jobs in an office are very low on the list. The ones at the top are fishers and related fisher workers, logging workers and aircraft pilots and flight engineers.

Dangerous Trends

When looking at the reasons each are dangerous you will begin to see trends. Fishermen and flight engineers face the possibility of being lost at sea or the risk of a crash. People in both professions are also very susceptible to develop some sort of chronic disease.

There are also the tools and machinery to consider. Flight engineers work with massive plane parts and logging workers face a constant risk of being cut by their own equipment or being crushed under a tree. Roof workers, construction workers and loggers are all also forced to go to great heights in their work, often in high winds, increasing the odds of a fatal fall.

Another factor that can make a job dangerous is the room for error involved in their typical day-to-day line of work. An airline pilot has little to zero margin for error. In fact, a National Transportation Safety Board study found that pilot error was responsible for 77% of fatal crashes. This also leads to higher than usual amounts of stress that can have negative effects on health over time. Insurance companies know this and will raise the cost for premiums for these occupations.

It is fairly obvious what makes a job dangerous and why insurers would charge more for disability insurance in these fields. Understanding why is important if you truly are interested in these professions.