What you need to know about disability insurance

In May, the insurance industry observed Disability Insurance Awareness Month to focus on this overlooked and misunderstood coverage.

Most people know that they need to insure obvious assets such as their home, their automobiles and other valuable possessions. Disability insurance covers your most important asset: Your ability to earn a living.
 

What is disability insurance?

Disability insurance provides income to you and your family if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.

Disability insurance pays a predetermined portion of your salary. The benefit is yours to use as needed for living expenses or other expenses stemming from the initial incident or illness.

Why is disability insurance important?

There are several sobering statistics that punctuate the need for disability insurance. The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education cites that one in three women can expect to suffer a disability that keeps them out of work for 90 days or longer at some point during their career. For men, the odds are about one in four.

Who should consider disability coverage?

TriSure recommends that everyone in the workforce secure disability insurance.

How is it different from Workers’ Compensation?

If you’re employed and you suffer a disabling illness or injury, you might be able to count on Workers’ Compensation insurance to replace some of your salary. It typically pays about two–thirds of your pre–disability income.

However, it only pays in cases where your illness or injury is related to your work, and the vast majority of long–term disabilities are not job–related (two examples are cancer treatment or recovery from a heart attack).

How can my business offer disability insurance to my employees?

Businesses can provide its employees this benefit through a group plan. These plans offer a lot of flexibility for coverage limits.

The main benefit of employer–provided coverage is that it is not underwritten, meaning employees automatically qualify for coverage. Some employees with pre–existing medical conditions may be subject to short–term limits on their coverage.

If you prefer, individuals can volunteer for employee–paid coverage. In this option, premiums are typically paid through automatic payroll deductions and provide employees more affordable options than if they seek this insurance on their own.

How TriSure can help.

TriSure’s experienced employee benefits professionals will be happy to answer your questions about disability insurance and how it fits into your employee benefits program. Call us toll–free at 800–849–8545 or locally at 919–469–2473.