The simple explanation is insurance for your paycheck. When you purchase Disability Insurance, you’re protecting your monthly income in the event you can’t work because of an injury or sickness: commonly referred to as a disability.
The term ‘disability’ may sound extreme, or it may seem like something that doesn’t happen very often. In reality, how likely are you to suffer an illness or injury that prevents you from working for an extended period of time – six months, a year, even five years.
Sounds rare, doesn’t it?
It’s not.
Note. On average, you have a one in five chance of becoming disabled between the ages of 35 and 65. If your home had a 20% chance of burning to the ground sometime in the next 30 years, you’d probably think homeowners insurance is fairly important, right?
Consider these other statistics:
- You have a one in seven chance of becoming disabled for at least five years before you turn 65
- If you’re 30, you have a one in three chance of incurring a long-term (at least 90 days) disability before you turn 60
- At age 40, the odds are three in 10
- At 50, it’s less than one in five
You actually have a far greater chance of becoming disabled during your working career than you do of dying. The chances of disability vs. death are more than six times greater for younger workers. Yet, far more Americans buy life insurance than they do a policy that can replace income lost because of a disability.
Where to begin?
If you’ve decided that you want to protect your monthly income in the event your injured or sick for an extended period of time, you have numerous options to customize a Disability Insurance policy to specifically meet your needs.
- Perhaps you only need a small amount of income each month because a portion of your existing income would continue even if you were disabled: no problem.
- If you suffered an injury and needed to begin receiving disability income payments within 30 days, done.
- Do you have enough in savings and investments that you could get by for 6 months, or even a year, but you’d need income protection if you were totally disabled, we can do that.
The Disability Income Insurance market is extremely confusing, and with literally hundreds of options available to customize a policy, it can be overwhelming.
This is where the advice and guidance of a Licensed Insurance Advisor can really help you. Take into account exactly what you need, what would be nice to have, and what’s affordable to present you with several options designed to protect your paycheck.
If you’d like to learn more, contact one of our Licensed Advisors . We’re here to help.