The Disability Insurance Blog

The Need for Disability Insurance - Salt Lake Tribune

2006-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

I just read an article on the need for disability insurance in the Salt Lake Tribune. The article is an interesting one on financial planning for singles and the differences one faces being single without anyone who can assist them and also some of the things you might not have to do. As the article states: "They (singles) have no one else's income to fall back on in case of emergency, and they don't have spouses to help them plan for - or pay for - the future. " Regarding disability insurance the article quotes an expert who says: ". . . they must protect their incomes by getting disability insurance in case they can't work. They should also have life insurance if they are caring for someone, whether or not the dependents are children."

Why do physicians buy disability insurance?

2006-10-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

The one group of people we talk to more than any others about disability insurance is physicians. There are a few reasons why this is so: 1. A physician is involved in highly skilled personal service that can not be delegated. Unlike an owner of many businesses, the service performed must be done by the doctor. If the doctor can't perform the duties of his/her occupation because of illness or accident, cash flow stops. 2. Physicians are acutely aware that the human body can get hurt or be sick and the consequences. We all are aware of this but it isn't in our consciousness on a daily basis as it is for physicians. Thus, the combination of the fact of inability to delegate duties and a keen awareness of the consequences leads to almost every physician looking into and obtaining disability insurance often during residency. There are three common ways a physician obtains disability insurance: 1. From a local agent who he knows, meets or is referred to 2. Via association group plans 3. From one of the large online disability insurance sites like protectyourincome.com Using 1. is a bit of a gamble based on the competency of the local agent along with his/her access to the leading companies. 2. Can lead to inadequate coverage based on the nature of that particular group plan and its definitions of disability, partial disability and renewal of the policy (price increases?) 3. Can allow study of the subject privately on your own, keeps affairs very private and away from the local area and with the right site, gives access to the leading companies and advice from professionals who speak to hundreds of people on the one subject of disability insurance.

Release of Disability Insurance Videos Featured on Forbes.com

2006-09-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

The recent release of disability insurance videos on the protectyourincome.com website was featured on a Forbes.com press release. Check it out.

Disabiility Insurance Videos

2006-09-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

Disability insurance can be a complex subject. There are now disability insurance videos on the protectyourincome.com site that go into detail on the subject.

Disability insurance for medical residents

2006-09-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting press release about disability insurance for medical residents. The great majority of medical residents start looking into disability insurance during the last year of their residency as they are about to enter practice. Learn more about disability insurance for residents and obtain disability insurance quotes at the protectyourincome.com.

First Concern: Disability Insurance

2006-08-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Interesting article concerning disability insurance today. The sub-title was First Concern: Disability Insurance. In the article the author says: "The most significant concern you must address first is disability insurance. What will you and your family do if you are injured, sick or gone? This is where risk management comes into play because you need a written disability contingency plan. It doesn't have to be fancy, but you should go through the thought process and make a plan and get insurance coverage for short-term and long-term ability." What is likely your largest and most important asset? Your ability to earn an income.

Press Release: Own Occupation Disability Definition for Physicians

2006-07-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

According to a press release today, one of the largest disability insurance companies has expanded its definition of own occupation disability insurance for physicians. According to the disability insurance press release: "A leading disability insurance company has made significant upgrades in occupation definitions for ALL physicians and for numerous executive and other professional occupations. Because of these changes, this company’s industry – leading disability insurance portfolio will become even more competitive, thanks to these sweeping improvements.How dramatic are these changes?Physicians who in the past could get only a 5 year true own occupation definition of disability will now be able to obtain a true own occupation definition to age 65. This includes all surgeons, emergency room doctors, anesthesiologists and any physician with invasive duties. Oral surgeons will also now have this available which means any and all dentists will be able to have a true own occupation definition.Many physicians with no invasive duties will now be able to receive up to a 20 percent decrease in premium."

The Motley Fool on Disability Insurance

2006-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

The MotleyFool.com commented today on disability insurance as part of an article entitled, "A Halfway Point Check up." In case you weren't aware of it, the Motley Fool is an extensive financial site. I've seen a lot of articles over the past few years on that site and many others where, as most financial experts and commentators have stated, there is a strong recommendation for disability insurance as an integral and vital part of a financial plan. Here's an excerpt from the article: ". . .what if you're not so lucky next year, and you can't work and earn a living? Not only do we need life insurance but disability insurance can also offset any loss of earning power if we foolishly -- or even not-so-foolishly -- end up crippled or disabled and without a means to support ourselves or our families." You can read up on disability insurance at the protectyourincome.com site.

Article: Disability Insurance Can Protect Finances

2006-07-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Here's another article on why you should have disability insurance. As stated in the article: We buy homeowner’s insurance in case the roof caves in, and collision insurance in case the car gets banged up. But the money machine that pays for these things often goes uninsured, or under-insured. That money machine is your ability to earn income, and if you are injured, become ill or disabled and are unable to work, the money machine will stop producing cash. How, and for how much, you insure yourself depends on your earning power, your dependents and other insurance coverage you may have through your employer. But most people don’t understand the details of their group insurance plan. They may not realize until it’s too late that the plan falls short of their specific needs. "A group policy is tailored to the average person, and it may not be adequate to meet your particular need." For individual disability insurance policy information and quotes, check out protectyourincome.com.

CPAs Say Plan for the Unknown - Disability Insurance

2006-06-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

In an article written by the Connecticut CPA Society about planning for risks, disability insurance is highlighted as follows: "Disability coverage is one area that many find themselves underinsured. Disability insurance replaces a portion of your salary if you become disabled and cannot work. Since people in the workforce are more likely to be disabled than to die prematurely, disability insurance is vital to financial security." To read the whole article on planning for the unknown click here.

Definitions of Words and Phrases Regarding Disability Insurance

2006-06-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

We get questions fairly often about disability insurance and some of the words and phrases used. Here are some disability insurance definitions that can help. For more detail you can see the disability insurance glossary at the www.protectyourincome.com website. Disability insurance, disability income insurance, income protection insurance are all synonyms for insurance that pays you a monthly income in case you can't work because of sickness or accident. The definition of disability varies from insurance company to insurance company. The most advantageous definition is one that defines disability as the inability to do the major duties of one's occupation. Partial or residual disability is coverage for when someone returns to work part time and is still partially disabled and has an income loss as compared to their pre-disability income. The amount paid is pro-rata to the loss and that same percentage of loss is applied to the insurance amount. For example, if there's a 50% loss due to a residual disability with a $5,000 monthly policy then 50% or $2,500 would be payable for that month. A disability recovery benefit is similar to residual disability but differs in one important way: What if there's an income loss after disability but no further medical problems i.e. the patient has been released from care without further disability? This is an important point that is often overlooked but without this could be catastrophic economically. At protectyourincome.com we represent the highly-rated disability insurance company that has own occupation coverage, residual and recovery benefits. If you have any other questions on disability insurance terminology, feel free to contact us.

Guardian Life Insurance Extends Own Occupation Definition of Disability for Physicians

2006-06-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Guardian Life Insurance Company and its fully owned subsidiary, Berkshire Life Insurance, have liberalized the own occupation definition for all physicians and dentists. Before this liberalization, many physicians had the own occupation definition of disability to age 65 in their contracts with Guardian and Berkshire but some physician specialties had a definition which limited the own occupation definition of disability to 5 years. The liberalization includes the extension to age 65 of the own occupation definition of disability to surgeons, cardiologists with invasive duties, anesthesiologists and any and all physicians of any specialty - period. Also, Guardian and Berkshire offer the own occupation definition of disability for dentists and the recent liberalization extended that provision to oral surgeons who previously had a 5 year own occupation definition. This own occupation definition is further amplified by Guardian and Berkshire to define own occupation as one's specialty. Guardian has many other very well written and liberal provisions in their contract which make them a recommended insurance company for us at protectyourincome.com. A unique benefit offered by this policy is the liberal recovery benefit which you can read about on the site. To learn more or to request disability insurance quotes from Guardian Life or Berkshire Life, you can visit the informative authority on disability insurance - www.protectyourincome.com.

The Washington Post talks about the importance of disability insurance

2006-05-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Disability insurance is the only insurance that has 100% acceptance by the financial media and is 100% endorsed by any financial planning professional. Here's an excerpt from an article in The Washington Post entitled "Is Disability Insurance Something I need?" "One in three people between 35 and 65 will have a disability that lasts 90 or more days......It's not about what happens to my family if I die, it's what happens to my family if I survive."

It's Your Money: Disability Insurance

2006-05-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

From www.wkowtv.com: Disability insurance is designed to answer a simple question: "If you're unable to work, how will you pay your bills?" UW Extension Financial Specialist Michael Gutter says the need for disability insurance outweighs the need for life insurance, yet many more people have the latter than the former. "We're more likely to be unable to work for a meaningful amount of time as a result of sickness or injury than we are to die while we're working," he points out. Read More Here.

Disability coverage important for protection

2006-04-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Do you have disability insurance? Many of us don't. A recent survey by the Consumer Federation of America found that 82 percent of us do not have adequate long-term disability insurance, and one-third said that their families could live for no more than three months on their savings in the event of a disability. The nonprofit LIFE Foundation has compiled a list of common excuses people use for not buying disability insurance. Here's a summary of their explanations on why it's important to have coverage. - "I am in good health; I won't become disabled" ---- The odds may surprise you. The foundation points to census figures showing that nearly one in five Americans become disabled for a year or more before age 65. And an illness or accident can be very costly because medical bills must be covered on top of your regular expenses. - "I'm not in a dangerous line of work" ---- Many people assume that disabilities are caused by freak accidents, but the foundation cites a National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research report that states that only 13 percent of disabilities are a result of injury. The vast majority of long-term absences are actually due to illnesses. Read the full text here.

The Least Expensive Disability Insurance

2006-04-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

What is the least expensive disability insurance? Is it the one with the lowest price? Or maybe is it the one that will pay the most in the most possible situations? If you pay $1000 per year for a plan that may not pay in as many circumstances as one that costs $1500 per year but pays in more situations which is the "least expensive" disability insurance policy. If you're disabled and are receiving $5000 per month in benefits and would have received nothing from the policy that cost $500 less per month which really was less expensive. This is not an unreal comparison. There are differences in definition and "gray areas" among disability policies. The experts at protectyourincome.com a leading disabilty insurance site can help you sort through the best disability insurance and thus the least expensive.

Is Disability Insurance Worth It?

2006-03-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

I don't think there's any other type of insurance that is more universally agreed upon as being valuable than disability insurance. The disability statistics speak for themselves as to the importance of insuring one's income. Here is some further support from the media: From The Philadelphia Inquirer: "Disability insurance can seem expensive, but that is because there is a good chance you will use it. Think of it as income insurance, since it is really all about protecting your income stream should you not be able to work." And this from a personal finance article: "In fact, insurance and financial experts say I'm more likely to suffer a disabling injury than die prematurely. According to the Social Security Administration's disability guide, a 20-year-old has a three in 10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. Nearly one in five Americans will become disabled for more than one year before age 65, according to the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to educating consumers about insurance. Looked at another way, four in five Americans will never become disabled before 65 and that 20-year-old has a seven in 10 chance of not being disabled either. So which odds should we bet on? Weigh the costs of insurance vs. the costs of suffering a major disability and losing your ability to earn money. How would you live?"

MSN talks on getting disability insurance while you're young

2006-03-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

A recent MSN article about some of the financial shocks new college graduates run into, correctly included the need for disability insurance and specifically individual disability insurance. The article made some good points including: 1. Even if some company disability insurance is available, it's worth looking into an individual disability policy. 2. Try to get a non-cancelable, guaranteed renewable disability insurance policy. I would add: 3. Get a disability insurance policy that defines disability as your occupation. 4. Get a disability policy that has a residual (partial) benefit - you're still partially disabled and have a loss of income. 5. Make sure that the policy has a recovery benefit - if you return to work after disability with a loss of income even though you've recovered. 6. Choose the insurance company that has highest financial strength ratings from Moody's, Standard and Poor's and A.M. Best and Company. You can read more about these important points at Tips on Purchasing Disability Insurance.

The Washington Post asks: Do you have enough disablity insurance?

2006-02-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this article from The Washington Post written in the wake of Katrina entitled; "Lessons to Carry Away from Katrina". The author, Michelle Singletary, writes a regular financial column for The Washington Post. In the article she asks: "....do you have disability insurance, and are you adequately covered? If you were injured in a natural disaster, would you be able to live off your savings?" The article, which mentions the quote above on disability insurance, is worth reading (and applying the advice) because it contains a list of things to check in your financial life to make sure you're ok in case of a natural disaster.

Your future income - Your most important asset

2006-02-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

As we have said throughout our site at protectyourincome.com - your income is probably your most important asset and unfortunately is also the least protected of those assets unless you have disability insurance. This is one kind of insurance that the "experts" in the media apparently agree with 100%. Here's an article from msnbc written by Jane Bryant Quinn about disability insurance. Here's an excerpt from what she had to say: (I'll have to borrow that "circus act without a net" quote.) DISABILITY INSURANCE Your earning power is your most important asset. If you fall off a roof and wind up in a wheelchair, how are you going to pay the bills? That's what disability insurance is for. It pays you a regular benefit—say, $3,000 or $5,000 a month—if you're too sick or injured to earn a paycheck or can't earn as much as you did before. If you have to work for a living and have no disability insurance, you don't have a financial plan. You're a circus act without a net. It couldn't be said better.

Disability Insurance in California

2006-01-22T15:30:00.000-08:00

Recently in the Sacramento Bee there was mention of the California Insurance Commissioner's foray into "reforming" auto insurance in California. There's also mention of what he has done to disability insurance: Here's an excerpt from the Sacramento Bee of January 22, 2006: "Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi's attempt to reform the auto insurance industry is going to have the same effect as his bungled forays into disability insurance and health insurance - higher rates, less coverage and an exodus of carriers from the state. . . ." There are disability insurance companies that have a high quality way of constructing their policies and taking care of their policyholders. An integral part of what we do for you is to show you which disability insurance companies and policies do that and how and why.

Disability insurance to avoid - Article comments

2006-01-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

There's an article on Business Week Online entitled "Insurance Plans You Can Avoid" which covers several types of insurance to avoid. I commented on The Life Insurance Blog regarding the life insurance issues and here are some comments about some of the points made that bridge over to the disability insurance arena. Regarding, Credit Disability Insurance, the article states: ". . . . . . .Credit insurance is a rip off . . . . ." There's some truth here. It is very highly priced and the definitions of disability are certainly not as favorable as one can get by getting an individual disability insurance policy. As with most add-on type insurance, if you can you're better off getting the highest quality personally owned policy you can get. As far as cancer insurance or single purpose policies. The article is correct that one should have health insurance that covers any illness or accident. From the article: "It's generally not a good idea to purchase single-purpose insurance. ".. . . . Cancer policies are "really preying on the fears of people. . . . ." As this relates to disability insurance, simply stated, you need to insure against loss of income for any cause. As discussed in detail in this bog and on the disability insurance site, try to get the best disability insurance policy you can get that has the most liberal definitions in your favor.

Are Group Disability Benefits Effected by Private Insurance

2005-12-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

A recent article in the San Mateo Times brought up a good point that's sometimes misunderstood about private disability insurance and its relation to group disability insurance: The question of whether private disability insurance is effected by group disability insurance . The article correctly states the fact that your ability to receive social security disability benefits or group disability insurance benefits is unrelated to whether you have a private disability insurance policy. The reverse is also true. If you are receiving group disability benefits it should not effect whether you receive your benefit from individual (private) disability insurance or not. The one exception to this is if you have a social insurance rider on your disability insurance policy which is a somewhat rare rider. You can learn all about disability insurance at www.protectyourincome.com and get an idea of costs by requesting competitive disability insurance quotes on the site.

New Proposed California Regulation on Disability Insurance

2005-11-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes regulators come up with "ideas" that are supposed to help the consumer. Recently, the California Department of Insurance came up with a mandate of changes to disability insurance that may have the unintended consequences of less availability of disability insurance. Milliman recently did an analysis of what this mandate may mean and why consumers may not be better off. A press release and link follows: New California Regulation 'Significantly Increases' Cost of Disability Insurance Yahoo! News (press release) - Nov 15, 2005... " Prepared by a nationally recognized actuarial consulting firm, Milliman Inc., the report says, "The purchasers of group and individual disability income (DI) insurance, both employers and individuals, will be the ones most affected by the Department's proposed policy language changes." Here are some excepts from the study: Specifically, the Milliman analysis finds the proposed changes will: * Significantly increase the cost of DI insurance by as much as 46% for group products and 33% for individual products; * Limit the range of DI insurance products available to California consumers; * Reduce the total amount of DI protection per life that Californians may access; and * Discourage some DI claimants from returning to work. "Disability insurance is a crucial part of the financial security of millions of working Californians. We commissioned this study to give decision-makers better information on the potential impacts of the regulatory changes proposed by the Department of Insurance," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of AHIP, a national trade association representing nearly 1,300 members providing health benefits, including disability income insurance, to more than 200 million Americans. The Milliman report is available online: http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=13557. For information and quotes about disability insurance go to www.protectyourincome.com

Disability insurance for athletes

2005-08-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

What is the economic result when a sports star receives an injury and gets knocked out of competition - maybe for the rest or his or her prime competitive years? It will result in a loss of an enormous amount of money to him and if he or she is involved in a team sport - it means a financial loss to the team along with the loss to the team of his contribution. You’ve watched the dramatic and not so dramatic injuries that happen during a game. At times these can take the athlete out of the sport. What can the athlete do to maintain their way of living and expenses if this happens? Also, there’s the issue of the undergraduate athlete who has all the earning potential in the world after college but is not making any now – it ‘s all in the future. It’s a multiple misfortune for a college athlete who has a professional future in his future to get a long term illness or debilitating injury - the stress of the injury or illness and the loss of future income. The solution is disability insurance that will replace income in the event of sickness or accident that doesn’t allow the individual to realize his or her financial future. Athletes also buy large amounts of life insurance because they look at disability insurance and life insurance as the best way of restoring income that was stopped short because of circumstances. How do you find out more about life insurance and/or disability insurance and get quotes? Go to http://www.protectyourincome.com/ for disability insurance http://www.lifeinsure.com/ for life insurance quotes and education.