Disability insurance continues our discussion of insurance understanding.

Disability insurance is designed to pay you a monthly benefit in the event you become disabled and cannot work and thus cannot provide an income.  It will normally pay you about 2/3rds of what you are currently taking home.  It is designed to help you meet your monthly expenses such as mortgage, utilities and groceries.  If your disability is long term, this insurance will normally pay out until age 65.

What surprises many people is that only 5% of disabling injuries occur on the job.  95% of disabling injuries occur in our off-work time – playing with the kids, falling off the ladder, etc. Another fact is that about 30% of all disability claims are mental health related – often stress.

With disability insurance, you want to make sure you know what is covered in your plan and what is not. For instance – some plans do not cover mental health and stress related issues.  Some plans do not cover lower back injuries.  The definitions for disability insurance are very important.