Guardian¹ has been one of the market leaders in personal disability insurance for financial professionals and insurance agents since the late 1990s. The Provider Choice policy is one of the most comprehensive levels of protection you can get to protect your income, and here you can learn what makes this one of the best disability insurance policies available today.

How ProVider Choice Protects Your Income Better

You buy disability insurance because you want to protect your income and probably your family. Too many competitors have a "loss of time or duties" requirement to pay a partial disability claim. Under Guardian's¹ Enhanced Partial Disability rider they do not require this loss of time or duties at your job to pay a partial disability benefit. This allows them to pay benefits until you financially recover from a sickness or accident, not just until you physically recover like many of our competitors.

Disabilities Are Usually Illness Claims

According to the most recent statistics, about 90% of claims are from an illness, not from an accident². Typically an illness does not recover miraculously, and it may take a long time to get back to normal. It could take even longer to financially recover after you have physically recovered. Why would you ever buy a policy from somebody who has a "loss of time or duties" requirement before they pay a partial disability claim? This allows many competitors to stop the payments as soon as you are healthy, even if it may take years to get back to where you were financially before the claim.

Guardian's Provider Choice¹ Policy Highlights

The Core of the Policy - The definition of total disability is the key to any contract in the industry, it determines whether or not you collect your total disability monthly benefit. No other company can say they offer a better definition today. Guardian has a True Own-Occupation definition allowing them to pay more benefits in more claims scenarios.

Enhanced Partial Disability Benefit Rider - As discussed above, the biggest reason why any financial professional should buy Guardian instead of anybody else is the fact this rider allows Guardian to pay you until your financially recover from your disability, not just until you physically recover.

Serious Illness Supplemental Benefit - Since 90% of claims are illness-related, this benefit lets Guardian pay an additional 50% of the monthly benefit over and above the normal monthly benefit for up to 12 months if the disability is caused by cancer, stroke, or heart attack.

Don't Rely on Group Long-Term Disability

A Group LTD policy provided by your employer typically pays 60% of salary up to a monthly maximum of five or ten thousand a month. There are several problems with relying only on this to protect your income;

• Benefits are usually taxed during a claim, so it isn't 60%.
   
• The higher your income, the more reverse discrimination LTD has.
   
• Bonus & commission income is typically not covered

A supplemental disability insurance policy will help to bring your income replacement ratio closer to 60%, the benefits of a personal policy may offer more protection than a traditional LTD policy, and it will cover bonus and commission income.

1Individual disability income product underwritten and issued by Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America (BLICOA), Pittsfield, MA. BLICOA is a wholly-owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), New York, NY. Product provisions and availability may vary by state.
²https://disabilitycanhappen.org/disability-statistic/