You wouldn’t head out for a long bike ride without your helmet or for a kayak trip without your life vest. Take your precautions a step further with disability insurance that protects your income in case an injury or illness prevents you from working.
Disability insurance provides a partial replacement of income lost due to illness or injury. A sobering statistic is that one in eight Americans will experience a disability for five years or more during their working lives. The most common causes of new long-term disability claims include muscle and back disorders, cancer, injuries, cardiovascular diseases, and complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
About one-third of Americans get disability coverage through their employers. Check your benefits package to see if you’re covered.
If you do the math and find that you can’t meet your monthly expenses, such as mortgage, rent, and food without your salary, you may want to get a quote on disability insurance. Typically disability insurance pays 60 to 67 percent of your salary until you turn 65.