Disability Insurance: A Quick Guide

Nobody wants to become sick or injured especially if you have a family who depends on you for financial needs. But accidents and illnesses happen, sometimes beyond your control. Because of this, you must be prepared for these possibilities so that your family will be well-protected against the adverse consequences of such events. This is especially true if you don't have enough savings in the bank that will help you go through hard-up times.

Disability Insurance

One good way to protect your family is to avail disability insurance. This provides partial salary replacement to workers who have been proved unable to work because of a disability. Disability refers to any mental or physical condition that hinders a person from performing regular work or taking on employment. This can be taken under the employers' group plan or be purchased separately as individual plan.

Types

There are two types of disability insurance: long-term and short-term. Long term coverage is for sicknesses and injuries that are permanent and lifelong. In order to qualify for benefits for such policy, one must be able to prove through medical documents that his/her disability will last until the day he/she dies. This provides benefits up to retirement age. Short-term disability insurance, on the other hand, refers to coverage of disabilities that are bound to get better in time. This means that if you've been injured or sick but you're bound to get better after some time, you can avail and benefit from this type of insurance plan. This covers only 40 to 65 percent of the salary that you used to receive before you became disabled. This lasts only for two years.

Quotes

Costs of such policies differ per plan, per insurer. It would be a good idea to get quotes from several insurers in order for you to have basis for comparison before you make a final purchase. Rates also differ according to the person's occupation, location, and status of living. Before getting a quote, it would be smart to calculate the amount of insurance that you need.

Finding an insurer

Aside from comparing quotes that you've collected from several insurers, you must also do some background check on the company that you're eyeing for. This is because even though a company offers attractive coverage and competitive rates, if it doesn't deliver to its guarantees then your policy will be worthless. It's essential that you rely only on insurers that have good reputation. Go for those that have been in the business long enough to prove their expertise and establish credibility. Get in touch with the Better Business Bureau to find out if any complaints have been made about a particular insurance company. Talk to the company's former clients for the same purpose.

Although getting insurance is always a good idea, it's still best that you exercise safety and caution in everything that you do to avoid getting sick or encountering accidents. Prevention is still best.

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