disability insurance

October 24, 2016

Plan and Prepare

There are numerous ways you can plan, prepare, and do to ensure a long and healthy life.

*Eat healthy – Veggies, fruit, whole grains, lean protein, low fat dairy *Find a physical activity – CrossFit, basketball, football, baseball, running, kickboxing, boot camp, muai thai, MMA or other martial arts, even walking with a friend on a consistent basis). Pick one. *Find your bliss or mix and match – he options are endless. *Put your head in a good place mentally – the power of positive thinking; what you believe you attract *Choose happiness – no matter what life throws at you, choose to find a piece of good in all things

New information is thrown at us daily in regards to ways we can learn about new tricks to staying healthy and living a long life. However, sometimes, fate steps in and takes the reins for a moment or two, often mangling our plans in extreme ways. There’s nothing you can do to stop the inevitable, but you can plan appropriately. Again, the key word being PLAN.

We know that it is hard for some people to be comfortable with the idea of purchasing life insurance. Knowing the inevitable can still be a hard pill to swallow – but you have to.

You can do everything possible to live a healthy life, but you still have to take the extra steps to protect yourself and more importantly, protect your family.

Life insurance, disability insurance, critical illness insurance ( and more) are all polices you should make part of your entire plan. Knowing you are living a healthy life isn’t enough to plan and prepare for the future. Financial planning and protection must be part of your daily health plan as well.

July 8, 2016

Dale and Diana

Diana and Dale had an amazing blended family with successful careers and respect from the community. Dale purchased life insurance and disability insurance to make sure he covered death and injury. Without the policies that Dale purchased early in the marriage, the family would not have be financially secure and been able to continue living within the lifestyle they were accustomed to.

https://vimeo.com/167034324

April 1, 2013

Disability Income Insurance Is Also Called Income Protection Insurance (yes!)

In the United States, we mostly call it Disability Income Insurance but in Europe and other countries it is called Income Protection Insurance. Even though Workman’s Comp will pay you a percentage of your pay if an on-the-job injury keeps you from working, an accident or illness outside the job will not cover you unless you are insured by your own personal policy. This Income Protection Insurance pays in addition to other coverage and may also cover periods of unemployment so you can better h andle your basic monthly bills.

We’ve all seen the duck offering us cash in h and to pay the bills, buy food and everything else we may need if we are sick or injured and can’t work for a paycheck, but how easy is it to get this type of insurance?

The application may appear to be overwhelming but just answer each question in turn. The mistake often made is to not answer fully thinking this information is not confidential. It is. Your answers become the basis for payment when the time comes that you need to collect so answer in too much detail. Ask your agent when you are stymied.

Give a detailed description of what doing your job entails. Mail room clerk can mean you sit and sort mail into slots or you not only sort the mail but you h and-deliver it to departments on each of the 20 floors and take outgoing mail to the Post Office. So if you broke a leg, can you still do your job? More detail is better.

Whether you call it Disability Income Insurance or Income Protection Insurance, unless you have at least 3-6 months of bill payments sitting in the bank, you should think of having one. Quack, quack.

May 24, 2012

Who Needs Disability Insurance?

Any insurance policy is designed to protect the policy owner from suffering financial loss when their life is changed by a disastrous event. But what happens when life is changed because of an injury or illness and you have to stop working in order to recover? The answer is without a disability insurance policy the injured will lose money and will not be able to pay their bills.

Disability insurance is a product that is designed to protect people from life changing disasters and financial destruction. If you end up getting hurt or sick and can’t work, you will end up with some pretty serious medical bills and a loss of income. The person who got hurt may feel that the source of the injury should be the one who pays for their injuries. While that may be true that the responsible party should care for the expenses of the injury the truth is it will take a long time for the issue to be settled in court. While you are waiting for the settlement your bills will continue to pile up. If you had purchased a disability insurance policy, you would have an income to meet the expenses of everyday life.

The benefits of a disability policy are fairly simple.

The protection that it gives to the policy owner is priceless. The policy helps by keeping the st andard of living close to what it was before the injury. It pays wages that would otherwise be lost because of lost hours..
The money the policy pays is allowed to be used for the expenses of everyday life. It can be used to pay for food, overdue bills or any other expense that you may have.
Depending on the policy it can also cover rehabilitation needs of the injured.
The coverage amounts can continue as long as the individual is still under medical care. The coverage usually ends when the policy owner can return to work or is released by the doctor.
The policy pays for the medical bills of the injured. It will pay for all the scans and test that are needed to help the person get well.

This type of policy should also be purchased by anybody who works and has the potential to get injured or ill, which is, well everybody! No one should lose their income and way of life because of an injury or serious illness. Talk to one of our agents today.

Karl Susman, Susman Insurance Agency

May 4, 2011

Disability Income Protection—Are Your Bases Covered?

Like most people, you may have life insurance to help protect your family against the financial impact of your unexpected death. You may also insure your home, car, and other personal possessions against financial loss resulting from fire, theft, or damage. However, you may have overlooked insuring one of the more important aspects of your financial life—the ability to earn an income.

Thinking the Unthinkable

Have you ever contemplated how long the combined resources of you and your spouse might last if you were suddenly out of work due to a disability? What long-term impact would exhausting your savings during a disability have on your ability to provide for your family and even yourself during your retirement years? If those resources provide less than your monthly expenses, including taxes and regular savings, or if exhausting them would significantly impact your ability to provide for yourself and your family on a long-term basis, you may need disability income insurance. Whether you need an individually owned policy depends on the extent of your liquid assets, your spouse’s income, and other potential sources of disability income, such as employer-sponsored group disability insurance, Social Security, and veterans or union benefits.

Depending on your income and the risk level of your occupation, the maximum coverage you can buy will generally replace 45% to 75% of your pre-disability earnings. The higher your income, the lower the percentage of replacement benefit may be. Typically, premiums will depend on your age, your health, the risk level of your occupation, and the type of coverage.

Examine Policy Provisions

To make sure your disability income insurance offers the protection that you and your family need, your policy should include the following:

A definition of total disability that is consistent with the risk of your occupation. You may also want to look for a policy that pays some benefits in the event you are not totally disabled, but you suffer a “loss of income” due to a disability. Often these provisions are called partial or residual disability provisions.

A non-cancelable clause that states the insurance company cannot cancel the policy or increase the premium until a certain age (as specified in the policy).

Benefits that are payable for the maximum amount of time for which you are eligible based on your occupation and health. Most often, you can find policies that provide benefit eligibility for two years, five years, or all the way until you reach age 65, or even payments beyond 65 for the rest of your life.

A waiting period that is consistent with your overall financial resources. The waiting period is the amount of time you must be disabled before becoming eligible for disability benefits. The longer the waiting period you choose, the lower the premium on your policy will be. Typically, you may purchase coverage that provides eligibility for benefits after 30 days of disability or for as long as after two years of disability.

Act Now

Now is the time to investigate the relative benefits and costs of disability income insurance to determine how much you need to spend to attain adequate protection. In addition, it is important to review the particular details and provisions of the policy you are considering with a qualified professional to help ensure your financial needs will be met.

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This article appears courtesy of Karl Susman. Karl Susman is a representative of the New Engl and Life Insurance Company. He focuses on meeting the individual insurance and financial services needs of people on the West Coast. You can reach Karl at the office at (424) 785-4337. New Engl and Life Insurance Company, 501 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116

May 2, 2011

In the Spotlight: Disability Statistics

How secure will Social Security help you be if you are unable to work? It is emotionally difficult to prepare for the possibility that you may suffer a disability as a result of an accident or illness, but it is financially imperative to plan. Your quality of life tomorrow may depend on your efforts today.

The Latest Figures

The Social Security Administration (SSA, 2010) estimates that three in ten of today’s 20-year-olds will suffer a disability before reaching age 67.¹ In another sobering statistic, the SSA reports that 69% of the private sector workforce has no long-term disability insurance.² Essentially, seven out of ten workers would have to rely on their own personal savings, limited state-run insurance, and Social Security for replacement income in the event they could not work because of a disability. In 2009, the estimated average monthly Social Security benefit for all disabled workers was $1,006.³ Over the course of a year, that totals approximately $12,072, and for many workers and their families, that is significantly less than their annual expenses.

Men vs. Women

Throughout history, men have generally earned more than women. The SSA reports (2010) that as of the year 2007, the average salary for women was 78% of the average for men.⁴ This disparity affects women in two ways. Because disability benefits are based on earnings, the benefits for disabled male workers are typically higher than those of disabled female workers. However, the spousal benefit for widows is generally higher than that of widowers for the same reason—the median income of men is higher than that of women. These demographic trends are important to consider for families planning their financial security.

Supplemental Income Sources

In addition to Social Security and personal savings, there are additional options for workers and their families. Personal disability income insurance is a viable option for workers looking to manage the risk of losing their income. It offers coverage beyond workers compensation, which is state-run insurance that replaces a percentage of an employee’s income only for injuries that occur on the job or illnesses that are work-related.

Disability income insurance policies vary, but here are some key questions to ask:

Are you covered for both accidents and illness?

Does the policy define disability as the inability to perform your own job or any gainful employment?

How long must you wait before benefits begin?

How long will benefits last?

Does the policy offer cost-of-living adjustments?

Are benefits available for total and/or partial disability?

What percentage of income will the policy replace?

Disability income insurance policies contain, exclusions, limitations, reductions of benefits and terms for keeping them in force. Speak with your representative for costs and complete details.

If you lack insurance against disability, or are underinsured, you are possibly exposing yourself to serious financial risk. Avoid becoming another statistic—plan your future today.

¹The Social Security Administration, “Social Security Protection If You Become Disabled,”

www.ssa.gov/dibplan/index.htm.

²The Social Security Administration, “Social Security Basic Facts,” www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/basicfact.htm.

³The Social Security Administration, “2009 Social Security Changes,” www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/colafacts2009.htm.

⁴The Social Security Administration, “Social Security Is Important to Women,” www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/women.htm.

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