Disability Income Insurance

In many ways, disability insurance is the most important part of someone’s financial plan. You may ask yourself, how long will I be able to be okay if my paycheck stopped? Disability insurance is the vehicle by which people can continue to get that income. 

But what I have noticed is most people don’t have any idea what they’re covered for, or what type of coverage they have. Many times people think that they’re covered under some type of government plan; for instance, in New York State, there’s a Disability Benefits Law (DBL) program, but that program really does not provide a significant replacement, and it’s only for a short period of time. 

Some people think that Social Security is going to provide for them. But most Social Security claims for disability are rejected, and it doesn’t provide good protection against a long-term disability, because many of those claims are rejected. Some people rely on their group coverage. Some companies have a group long-term disability — others do not.

The big thing that I wanted to discuss today was the difference between Individual Disability Income (IDI) versus Group Long Term Disability (LTD). If I work for a large company, part of the benefits provided by the company might be long-term disability income. These policies are usually not portable. Their definition of disability might not include partial disabilities (most disabilities start with a partial disability, and end with a residual effect from that disability).

On the other hand, an Individual Disability Income policy is portable, goes anywhere you go when you move or change jobs. It covers partial disability, the premium can’t go up, and you can’t be dropped from coverage.

It’s very important to understand the different types of disability insurance such as New York State DBL, Social Security disability group, long-term disability, and disability income.

Give us a call. Let us know how we can help you understand this type of insurance and protect your most valuable asset, which is your income.

Group and Individual Disability Insurance

Registered Representative offering Securities through American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. (APFS) Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services are offered through G&G Planning Concepts, Inc. which is not affiliated with APFS.  Strategic Wealth Advisors Network and Gassman Financial Group are not affiliated with APFS.

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