Insuring yourself would be the best way to secure yourself right before accidents happen. You always want to secure yourself while you are on the road, at your work and whatnot. The benefits of disability insurance from the government and workplace are getting harder to come by, which also puts a little more pressure on the consumers to get their own coverage in case a medical condition keeps them from working.
However, for some, disability insurance could be confusing. The policies might include conditions which make everything tough for people who are filing claims to be qualified for the benefits. Some policies may even limit the payouts for some diagnoses, most especially for the mental illness. So, if you want to protect yourself, here’s the right way on how to get a disability insurance.
Safety Net from the Government
You should start by knowing and understand what your government can provide. The Social Security is only available for people with a condition that will make them unable for work for about a year, or are terminal. For individuals who qualify, there’s only 36% who win their benefits after appealing. The payout averages for only 40% of their pre-disability income. However, for those who earn high income, the share will be smaller.
Buy a policy at your work
At your work, you should know what your employer provides. If they provide a share or pay all of the premiums for disability insurance, then that is the best option for you. In this case, you need to ensure you have both of the long-term disability insurance, which starts paying after 90 to 180 days, or a short-term coverage which lasts for only a few months.
You should watch out for a probable gap between them, since some of the short-term policies of the employers may not stretch to whenever the long-term ones start to kick in. Though your employer makes disability a voluntary kind of benefit, with the premium coming out of your paycheck, it’s always better instead of buying an individual short-term disability insurance. While you can, checking for an insurance agent now will work best for you.
Start planning for your health care cost
By knowing how much your expenses will possibly be during your disability period, remember that if you are out of work for extended periods, you may surely lose your job, and might need to start paying for your health coverage. Although though disabled individuals who receive their Social Security benefits could qualify for the Medicare, there is still a two-year lag prior the federal health coverage comes in.
Another thing that you need to check is the circumstances in which the disability insurance benefit will pay you out. If the money is triggered when you are unable to do your job, then it’s better for you. However, some of the policies say that if you could do any other job, then you are not completely disabled.