A Quick Primer on Disability Income
Life doesn’t pause when you’ve been sidelined suddenly and unexpectedly. Your responsibilities continue marching on. You need a plan.
Disability income is your pinch hitter when you’re temporarily benched. It’s your understudy during those disability timeouts.
Your Benefits from Disability Insurance Can:
- Provide income continuation when an accident or sickness prevents you from working.
- Supplement a reduced income from being out of work.
- Guarantee an income stream for living expenses regardless of economic conditions (including volatile stock market performance).
- Restore lost benefits from employer group disability plans that typically DO NOT favor higher income earners.
- Insulate retirement savings when profit sharing plans cease during disability periods.
Why me? Why now? Why this?
- Your future and your income are bound together. Unless you have an inexhaustible trust fund, you depend on regular paychecks. The best course of action is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
- Ben Franklin knew a thing or two when he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Life can change as quickly as an accident takes place or a diagnosis is given.
- Without disability insurance, a single incident can destroy your family’s lifetime of financial security in a few weeks or months. Don’t become the cautionary tale told among your peers for years to come.
Definitions & Details
The strength and value of Disability Insurance contracts stems from — and varies with — the stated terms of “Total Disability.” Definitions diverge among carriers, but they are truly the heartbeat of contracts. Each signed agreement differs under what conditions the policy will be paid and for how long.
Beware, the devil is in the details. Similarly sounding products can have vastly different conditions and terms. Nuances in these terms can mean staying afloat or going under:
- True Own Occupation
- Transitional Own Occupation
- Modified Own Occupation
- Any Occupation, or Income Replacement
Understanding the contract terms before making a purchase decision is key. Discovering what coverage you have at the time of claim can lead to disappointment and severe financial distress. Additionally, once a claim is made it’s considered a pre-existing condition. Know what you’re buying before signing.
Education, and an experienced guide, can prevent costly mistakes. For more than three decades, Lisa Scholnick of LisaCo has helped successful professionals determine the optimal selection for themselves and their families. Call us today to help you navigate the terrain, know your options and carefully make accurate comparisons. You deserve piece of mind and a secure future.