Is This A Product I Should Have?

There is a legitimate argument that individual disability insurance may be the most important financial product you own. Everything you have now and expect to own in the future is based on your ability to earn an income. This product is designed to replace a portion of your income in case you are no longer able to work because of something like cancer, heart disease, or some other illness. The top reasons people normally buy this are;

• To Protect Their Family
• Start a New Job/Career
• Witness a Friend/Colleague Become Disabled
• Finish Residency Training or Law School
• Hit a Financial Milestone Where you Realize the Need

We sell individual disability insurance policies to white-collar professionals across the entire country. The Provider Choice policy is one of the best policies available on the market today. We invite you to use the calculator on this page to see what the price would be for a policy and please call us with any questions.

What are the Chances I Will Need it?

• 1 in 4 workers will become disabled during their working years
   
• 1 in 8 workers will experience a long-term disability lasting 5 years or more
   
• The average long-term disability is 2.5 years
   
• 90% of claims are from illnesses like cancer, heart disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus

What Does the Individual Disability Insurance Cover?

Most people think about a car accident causing them to become disabled, but the reality is almost 90% of long-term disabilities are caused by an illness.¹ Major illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and ALS are certainly covered, but one of the leading causes is musculoskeletal disorders causing almost 29% of claims.¹ If you have a high-quality policy it will also cover mental/psychiatric disorders², as well as neurological disorders. Injuries and accidents only account for about 10% of the claims.

How Does Individual Disability Insurance Work? ³

You can design a policy to be the most comprehensive plan possible or to fit a relatively tight budget only protecting against the worst-case scenarios. Either way, individual disability insurance is going to outperform a Group LTD plan available at most employers. The policy is designed to maintain your standard of living during a claim, and also provide you an incentive to return to work if you possibly could. Usually, it pays around 60% of your income on a tax-free basis every month you are disabled.

Benefits typically begin after a 90-day elimination period (deductible) and will continue every month you are disabled until you reach the end of your benefit period (usually age 65). There are a lot of options that you can pick and choose from, but we offer a resource to show you the most popular disability insurance riders people buy today.

How Much Does Individual Disability Insurance (DI) Cost?

People tend to pay about 1-3% of annual income for a policy. Women pay more than men do for DI, but men pay more than women for life insurance. The older you are, the more expensive the cost of disability insurance protection is going to be. Individual policies are usually Non-Cancellable & Guaranteed Renewable which means your rate is never going to change, so buying a policy at a young age will save you a lot of money during your working years.

How Do I Apply?

We try to make the disability insurance application process as easy as possible. When you use the disability insurance calculator on this page, you can actually fine-tune the proposal by selecting an amount that works for you. Once you have decided how much you need, you can fill out an application online. 

One of our agents will be assigned to your case and will help you through the entire underwriting process. The process takes about a month to complete, it may or may not require a blood test, a review of your medical records, and a telephone interview. The requirements are different depending on the amount of coverage applied for.

Council for Disability Awareness (https://disabilitycanhappen.org/disability-statistic/)
Benefits may be limited in some states or with certain occupations. 
An individual's eligibility for benefits is determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the factual circumstances presented as well as the terms and conditions of his/her policy. 

This material contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Guardian or its subsidiaries and such opinions are subject to change without notice.