Disability Insurance Quotes

Disability Insurance pays an insured person a policy benefit when that person is unable to work because of an accident or illness. Most employers offer some kind of disability insurance, but you should find out exactly what your employer offers before you have to file a claim. There maybe limits to how much you can receive based on your pre-disability earnings or by which plan you chose. Rates will vary based on occupational duties and length of time in a particular industry. Some kinds of coverage have a waiting period before you can begin collecting benefits, usually 30, 60, or 90 days. The period of benefits may vary from 2 years to life. A shorter waiting period will cost more than a longer waiting period, and a longer benefits period will cost more than a shorter benefits period.

There are two types of disability policies: Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability.

1. A short-term disability policy may have a waiting period of 0 to 14 days with a maximum benefit period of no longer than 2 years.
2. A long-term disability policy may have a waiting period of several weeks to several months with a maximum benefit period of a few years to the rest of your life.

Disability policies may have two protection features that are important to understand:

1. Non-Cancellation means the policy cannot be canceled by the insurance company, except for withholding payment of premiums. This gives you the right to renew the policy every year without an increase in the premium or a reduction in benefits.
2. Guaranteed Renewable means you have the right to renew the policy with the same benefits and to have security over the policy not being canceled by the insurance company. However, your insurer has the right to increase your premiums as long as it does so for all other policyholders with the same rating.

What Disability Insurance Is Not

Disability Insurance is not a form of Worker's Compensation Insurance. This type of insurance pays an insured benefits when that person is unable to work because of an accident or illness, not because of an injury while on the job. You should not rely on this type of insurance to cover all the medical expenses relating to your disability. Including other preventative measures, such as Long-Term Care Insurance or Group Health Insurance, may help you afford any extra incidents.

Who Needs Disability Insurance?

Check with your employer to see if you are covered. If so, ask your employer how long you must wait before benefits begin, and how long payments will last while you are disabled. No laws require employers to offer long-term disability coverage, but about half of large and mid-sized corporations offer it to their workers. Typically, Group Long-Term Disability benefits replace about 60% of the worker's usual salary. These benefits usually start when Short-Term benefits are exhausted and continue from 5 years to the rest of your life. Sometimes, Group Long-Term Disability Insurance is fully paid for by employers, with no contribution expected from employees. Generally, when you receive employer-paid disability income, you must pay federal and state income tax on the benefits, unless your company pays it for you.

Things to Think About

Some Disability policies allow short-term sick leave, which might last from a few days to as much as 6 months. In some states, such as New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Rhode Island, state law may require employers to provide disability benefits for up to 26 weeks. You may also consider asking your employer whether their disability plan takes other disability programs, such as Social Security, into account when calculating your disability pay. 

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