No one wants to think about getting injured badly enough that we can’t work anymore… It makes us cringe to think of the pain and the idle time we’d spend in our house if we were disabled.
BUT, it’s very important to consider: what if it happened, and what if you weren’t covered?
Disability insurance protects you and your family in case an injury causes you not to be able to work for a short or long period of time. Without it, you and your family could be left in a difficult situation.
So do you, like many in the workforce, believe you are already covered for disability by your employee protection plan? You may be correct but the truth is that usually, this is not the case…
Employers often offer short-term policies for up to 6 months as part of their group benefits plan. But these policies do nothing for you if you are truly incapacitated and cannot regain employment. There are some major things to look for in a disability policy:
Does it cover you if you can no longer work in your current job or does it only cover you if you can no longer do any job? The first type is more expensive but also much more valuable… The second type means that if you can still perform any job (consider fast food?) then the policy does not pay.
The second important part to these policies is the maximum amount that they will pay. They may cap the monthly benefit and they also may cap the number of years that they will pay. Neither are very helpful if you need long term income replacement due to a disability.
So, even though this is an unpleasant topic, we suggest that it is best to investigate your choices at least once a year during benefits renewal time.
That being said, all of us here at CoverLink wish you and your family continued financial and physical health as we move through 2010!