3 Reasons Why You May Need Additional Long-Term Disability Insurance

15 February 2016 by Elijah Steward

Are you financially protected in the event that you suffer a long-term disability? Many workers have coverage for disability through their employer benefits. Others may be covered under Social Security disability, depending on the type of disability that they suffer. However, those programs usually only replace a fraction of your current income.

Depending on the severity of your injury, you may have difficulty continuing your lifestyle if you're relying on employer or Social Security disability benefits. You may want to consider additional individual long-term disability coverage. Here are three reasons why additional coverage might be right for you:

You have substantial debt. This may be one of the biggest reasons to get disability insurance. If you become disabled and have to stop working or must take a lower-paying job, your debt won't go away. You'll still have to continue making payments. If you can't afford the payments, you could end up in credit trouble or even facing bankruptcy. 

If you have a mortgage, student loans, or even business debt, it could be a wise idea to purchase your own long-term disability policy. Look for a policy that will replace nearly your full income should you become disabled. That will help you to service your debt and avoid serious financial trouble.

Your family has a history of disability. While you can't predict with accuracy that you will become disabled, you may be able to use your family history to make an educated guess. If your family has suffered from genetic and disability-causing ailments like strokes, severe arthritis, or even neurological conditions, then you may want to consider preemptively buying coverage.

Disability is usually easiest to get when you're healthy. The younger and healthier you are when you purchase, the less expensive the coverage is likely to be. Also, if you suffer health issues in the future, you may be unable to get it at all. You may want to look into coverage while you're healthy. Then, if you suffer from health issues like others in your family have suffered, you'll have protection in place.

You are in a highly-skilled profession. Do you have a highly-skilled and highly-paid job, such as being a surgeon? Many employer disability plans have contingencies that say benefits will not be paid if you are able to work in any occupation. The problem is that you could suffer a hand disability that prevents you from being a surgeon, but doesn't prevent you from working other jobs. In that situation, you may not get employer or Social Security disability benefits.

Instead, look at individual coverage that will pay if you're not able to work in your own occupation. That will protect you if you can't continue your career and it will allow you to support your family's standard of living.

For more information, talk to your insurance agent, like one from Wyoming Financial Insurance. They can help you decide whether disability insurance is right for you.

Share

Search