Disability income insurance

Most people never consider disability income insurance until they need it. Unfortunately by the time that you need this coverage, it is often too late. There are millions of people throughout the United States that become disabled, either temporarily or permanently, every year. Many are able to return to work after just a short while. However, there are thousands of people who become disabled every year that never have the option of returning to work. Since becoming disabled is something that most people never consider, disability income insurance is a product that many simply do not understand.

If you were injured, for instance in a car accident, or any other accident that would not be covered by worker’s compensation, then you may have problems paying your mortgage and other bills. Any time that you are physically injured and cannot work, you may have the problem of not having enough money coming in to keep your bills paid. If you do not have thousands of dollars in savings or have enough income coming in besides your own, then there may very well come a day when disability income insurance is needed. Most people simply do not have the means to lose their jobs, even for a short period, and still keep food on the table, the mortgage and car payments current and take care of other necessities of life.

Disability income insurance helps when you become injured and cannot work. The insurance company will pay you a monthly payment that will help you to pay your bills. Of course, in order to qualify for compensation, you will have to be injured to the effect that you cannot perform any job. Most employers offer some sort of disability insurance that cover employees when they are injured for a short period of time. Most of these plans however, will not pay you for long term injuries. If your employer offers disability income insurance it is important that you check your policy to determine how long you will be covered if and when you are ever injured and need to collect benefits.

The federal government provides disability benefits as well, but these are typically for those who will never be able to return to work. These benefits are provided through the Social Security Administration and in order to qualify, you must be completely disabled from performing any jobs in the future, not just the job that you are currently working. It is also important to understand that these federal payments are not typically very much each month. They may not be enough for you to live on should you become permanently disabled.

You can check with your employer or with an individual insurance company to determine just how much disability income insurance you would need should you ever become injured and not able to work. If you learn that you do not have sufficient coverage, there are supplements to employer based disability insurance that you can purchase. This insurance may never be needed. Of course, it is much better to be safe rather than sorry. Even if you never receive benefits from disability income insurance, it is an excellent idea to have the coverage just in case you should ever need it. Having the ability to pay your mortgage and other necessary bills while you are recuperating from an accident or injury will help to take the stress out of your recovery and ensure that you do not become financially bankrupt do to the inability to work.

There are many independent insurance companies that currently offer disability income insurance. You should determine just how much coverage you will need should you ever be unable to work and then purchase the appropriate policy. If you are unsure of how much coverage you need, an insurance agent should be able to help you to come up with these figures and ensure that you have enough coverage to handle all of your finances in the even you should ever be unable to work due to injury.

Last updated on May 23rd, 2010 and filed under Health Insurance. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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