Disability

If you or your spouse becomes disabled because of a serious injury or illness, your income would be significantly impacted. To protect against financial hardship, you should consider Disability Income Insurance.

Consider the following when selecting a policy:

Definition of Disability:

Some policies pay benefits if you are unable to perform the duties of your regular occupation, while other policies pay only if you cannot engage in gainful employment. Many policies also pay benefits if you become ill or injured and are unable to earn a specified percentage of your income. If you understand how ‘disability’ is defined in the policy, you will be able to select coverage that suits you best.

Amount of Income:

This amount will vary depending on the policy, yet policies that pay 50 to 60 percent of your monthly salary are the most common. Look at all your sources of income to determine the amount of coverage that you will need before making a policy purchase.

Length of Benefit Period:

There are policies that are payable for one, two, five years or up to your retirement age. If you opt for coverage that lasts through age 65, you will receive the best protection against injury or illness.

Residual Benefits:

This option gives you partial payment in the event that your income is reduced because you are unable to fulfill some, but not all, of your job responsibilities.

Cost of Living Increases:

Adding this benefit to your policy will maintain your coverage at the pace of inflation.

Short-Term Disability:

These policies generally have a waiting period of up to 14 days and a maximum benefit of no more than two years.

Long-Term Disability:

These policies have a waiting period of several weeks to months and a maximum benefit period ranging from several years to the rest of your life.

If you have a policy through your employer, you may want to consider supplemental disability insurance.

Purdum Gray Ingledue Beck, Inc. understands that a disability can significantly hamper your life, and we have the insurance solutions to protect against just that. Give us a call today to learn more!