Disability income coverage replaces income lost by an employee when injury or illness prevents the individual from working. Generally, disability income policies are divided into 2 types:

-Those that provide benefits for up to two years (short-term)

-Those that provide benefits for a longer period, usually for at least five years, to age 65, or for a life-time (long-term).

When provided on a group basis, the benefits are usually integrated with benefits from Social Security and other public programs. The entire range of benefits from these sources generally is set at a level that does not exceed 60 percent of earnings.

Individual disability income policies usually pay a fixed dollar amount of coverage. This amount may be greater for those who are turned down by Social Security. Individual disability income policies take many forms and may be designed to fit the special needs of the individual policy owner.

What is your most valuable asset?

Is it your home, your car, - how about the one thing that makes it all possible - your income?

When you consider that the odds of suffering a disability of 90 days or longer are 3 times greater that your chance of dying, owning adequate disability coverage is critical.

If you could not work because of an illness or an injury, what would you do?

• Use your savings? One year of disability could wipe out 10 years of savings.
• If you expect to rely on your spouse's income you could be fooling yourself. One spouse's disability can cripple the others earning power because of the strain of working while single handedly caring for the home and the disabled partner.
• Social Security? Good luck! According to the Social Security Administration roughly 50% of claims are rejected because applicants don't qualify.

Disability policies are complex and understanding the fine print in the contract is crucial. We can help explain the subtle differences that make one plan better than another for your occupational specialty and income level.