At any given moment, you might be faced with an unexpected accident or serious illness. You may be walking down a flight of stairs and suddenly fall and injure your back. You may be painting your house and fall off the ladder and break your leg. You may get a serious case of pneumonia. All of these things are real and happen to people across the country on nearly a daily basis.
In case the above examples become a reality for you, or something similar happens, having individual disability insurance may be a good idea. Individual disability insurance can financially save you in times of need. You may ask yourself the question, “Do I have enough in my savings or other accounts to continue financial support for me and my family in case of injury or illness?” If the answer is “no,” you may want to think about purchasing some individual disability insurance.
Individual disability insurance is typically divided into two groups: short term disability and long term disability. Most insurance carriers will offer both kinds of insurance. An explanation of short and long term disability and associated benefits are as follows:
Short Term Disability
Short term disability is individual disability insurance that pays a percentage of your wages when an accident or serious illness occurs. Like the name indicates, short term disability gives you coverage for a short period of time. Most insurance carriers offering this individual disability insurance will pay 50-70 percent of your earned wages for 13-26 weeks. This individual disability insurance is good to have because most accidents or incapacitating illnesses are recoverable in a short period of time. Short term disability plans do have a salary cap, so you won't go beyond a maximum level of compensation.
Long Term Disability
Individual disability insurance for the long term covers the same kinds of accidents or illnesses, just for a longer period of time. Long term disability is usually claimed by those in a nursing home, assisted living or alternate care facility. However, people who have become seriously ill or injured and stay at home for a period longer than four months can also claim long term disability. Just like its short term counterpart, this individual disability insurance pays a percentage of earned wages, depending on the circumstances. For a nursing home patient, this individual disability insurance will normally pay between $40 and $300 a day. Because of long term insurance parameters, many different types of policies can be purchased.
The kind of coverage you want and the premiums you can afford will determine which individual disability insurance policy is best for you. As a general rule of thumb, people between the ages of 20 and 45 should purchase short term disability. Their health is usually pretty good and they recover quickly from injury. Those between the ages of 45 and 65 may purchase short term individual disability insurance or long term individual disability insurance. Most people over the age of 65 purchase long term individual disability insurance.
Your age, kind of employment, gender and other factors usually determine the premium you will pay. Contact any number of insurance providers to find out the details of which type of individual disability insurance policy is right for you.
John Ivie