How to Buy Affordable Disability Insurance
How do you go about buying disability insurance? Outlook Life would like to simplify the process for you. Here are some simple explanations of what disability insurance is, and some tips on how to buy the right policy for you."
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What types of disability insurance are there?
Private or Individual Disability Insurance comes in Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability policies. Short Term Disability Insurance is what is called “sick pay” at a job. It is designed to provide income for several weeks or months, with a max of a couple of years. Long Term Disability Insurance provides coverage that starts 1 to 12 months after becoming disabled. It can provide coverage from several months to several years, or even until retirement age.
Social Security Disability is what you can get after paying into Social Security taxes, and proving that you are unable to do any job. Social Security Disability benefits usually take longer to collect than individual disability insurance, and do not pay as much as private policies. In fact, private Disability Insurance can get you by until it is determined that you qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, then supplement those benefits until retirement.
What Types of Disability Insurance Do Most People Get?
Most people only have enough reserves to get them through about three months of being unable to work, without income coming in. Therefore, most people get Long Term Disability Insurance with a three month elimination (waiting) period. Those who want their Disability Insurance to cover a normal pregnancy purchase Short Term Disability Insurance. More businesses offer short term disability coverage to their employees than they do long term disability protection, so more people purchase Long Term Disability Insurance for that reason, as well.
What are Some Things to Consider in Buying Disability Insurance?
Some things to consider in purchasing individual Disability Insurance are the following. The choices you make will affect the cost, so you can compromise on some options while putting your foot down on others, so that you can end up with an affordable policy to suit your needs.
1) Length of coverage. Do you want it to last a year, several years, or until retirement?
2) Elimination period. This is the amount of time you’d have to wait after being determined disabled, until your benefits started to pay.
3) Benefit amount. The most you can usually get is between 60-80% of your normal income.
4) Options. You can get a policy with residual benefit that will pay if you are unable to perform to the level you did before. You can get an own occupation clause that will pay you if you cannot go back to your previous profession. You can get policies that will provide for extra coverage in the future. There are many options to consider when purchasing Disability Insurance.
Where to Buy Disability Insurance?
Using a brokerage like Outlook Life can save you a lot of time and ensure you are getting the most competitive price on your Disability Insurance. That is because we carry products from many companies so that you can get the policy that has the best price for you.