We’re discussing “ 5 reasons why you need a disability insurance ” because A disability can happen to anyone, at any time. Some people might have an insurance policy that covers their disability, but it’s important to know exactly what your policy will cover and what it won’t cover to ensure that you won’t be stuck in an unfortunate situation with no money at all. Here are five reasons why you need a disability insurance policy to cover your medical expenses and lost wages if you can’t work due to illness or injury.
1) Can provide financial support while you recover
Disability insurance can protect your income when you’re out of work for an extended period of time. With some disability insurance policies, it can even cover 100% of your pre-disability income.
Having consistent access to money is crucial if you want to get back on your feet and move forward with your life.
Disability insurance ensures that you have money while recovering from an injury or illness. It may also help pay medical bills associated with your disability.
Disability insurance provides financial support while you recover, so you don’t have to worry about money during such a difficult time.
It also helps ensure that your family doesn’t go into debt because of your injury or illness. For example, if you were to become disabled and could no longer work as a doctor, disability insurance would help provide money while you recover.
If you had to take time off of work due to your disability, disability insurance would provide enough money for you to still pay all of your living expenses without having to rely on credit cards or other forms of debt.
Disability insurance allows people who are unable (or unwilling) to quit their jobs after becoming disabled by an accident or disease.
2) Provides peace of mind
If you become disabled and can’t work due to medical issues, your disability insurance will provide income until you can return to work.
This ensures that you’ll have money to pay bills, take care of yourself and your family, and live comfortably.
Even if you’re young or healthy right now, unexpected injuries happen—making it even more important to make sure that you have disability insurance in place.
When you’re ready to purchase disability insurance, talk with an insurance agent who specializes in long-term disability coverage.
They can help you determine how much coverage is appropriate for your situation and explain what types of policies are available.
And don’t forget about life insurance: While disability insurance helps replace lost income, life insurance provides funds to cover final expenses and support your loved ones after you pass away.
A whole-life policy covers both long-term disability and death; term life insurance covers only death (and usually at lower premiums).
Talk with an insurance agent about which type is best for you.
Disability insurance alone won’t protect you from financial hardship if you suffer a serious injury or illness—but by combining disability insurance with long-term care insurance, critical illness insurance, and life insurance, you can be confident that your finances will be protected no matter what happens.
Long-term disability plans typically cost between 0.5% and 2% of annual salary each year; short-term disability plans tend to cost less than $50 per month.
3) Helps families who depend on you financially
Disability insurance is designed to help your family with financial support in case you’re unable to work. Without it, if you’re injured or get sick and can’t make money for an extended period of time, you could run into serious financial troubles—and even lose your home.
Disability insurance takes care of these problems before they happen. In other words, it helps ensure that if something goes wrong in your life, your family will be financially OK. It’s hard to put a price on peace of mind like that. If you have kids, disability insurance also ensures their college savings won’t be affected by your injury or illness.
With disability insurance from Policygenius, your premiums are guaranteed not to increase as long as you pay them on time every month! And unlike many disability insurance plans out there, ours doesn’t require a medical exam up front.
That means you don’t have to worry about having pre-existing conditions when applying. What happens if I become disabled? Disability insurance is available in two types: short-term and long-term. Short-term disability insurance kicks in after 180 days of being out of work, while long-term disability insurance kicks in after 12 months.
Short-term disability insurance will cover 60% of your income for up to five years; long-term disability insurance covers between 40% and 66% (depending on which state you live in) until age 65 or 67 (depending on which state you live in). When do I need it? Now.
4) Protects your business and assets
Disability insurance is most important for business owners, because it protects your business from a loss of income if you can’t work due to an illness or injury.
Businesses are built on revenue and income, so if you become disabled, you could lose everything unless you have disability insurance in place.
Disability insurance can also protect your personal assets—the financial tools that allow you to invest, save and grow your wealth—in case of an accident that leaves you disabled but not fully covered by health care.
For example, let’s say you were hit by a car while riding your bike and were forced to spend six months in physical therapy.
Without disability insurance, you would be paying out-of-pocket for all of those bills during that time—and likely more than $100,000 worth of medical expenses over several years.
If you had disability insurance through your employer or through an individual policy, however, you would only be responsible for a small portion of those costs.
5) Keeps lifestyle at the same level while disabled
With disability insurance, you can keep your lifestyle at its current level, even if you’re not working. Disability insurance will pay you (or your family) a percentage of your salary while disabled.
The benefit amount is based on factors such as age and occupation, but most policies have coverage limits of $10,000 to $100,000 per month.
This money can be used for anything—to help with medical bills or mortgage payments, or just to get by until you return to work. It may also cover some of your taxes, especially if it replaces income that would otherwise be taxable.
And disability insurance isn’t just for people who are out of work; freelancers and self-employed workers should consider disability insurance because they don’t have access to employer-provided disability benefits.
Disability insurance usually costs less than 1% of your annual salary, so it’s worth considering no matter how much money you make