Many people that buy Long Term Disability policy believing that after an accident or illness their lost income will be covered. That isn’t correct! Did you know that a typical group policy only pays you 60% of your salary up to a specified limit? Such as $3,000, $5,000 or $7,500 per month?
Long Term Disability group policies also don’t replace lost income from commissions or bonuses.
While getting Long Term Disability insurance because you have a one and three chance of becoming disabled and not being about to work 90 days or more at some point in your career, you do need to be smart about buying a Long Term Disability policy.
Nancy Cavey, Florida Long Term Disability attorney suggests that you do the following:
1. Calculate how much you need to maintain your standard of living if you’ve become disabled. You can calculate this at a site called LIFEhappens.org. If you don’t have enough insurance, you might want to see if your employer offers a supplemental coverage. However, I recommend that you buy an individual plan that can you as much as 70-80% of your salary without a reduction for other benefits, such as Social Security payments. Even better, if you buy your own policy, your Long Term Disability benefits aren’t usually taxed.
2. Read the fine print of your coverage closely. Some plans pay only if you are unable to work in any capacity, others pay if you can’t receive your current income. The price of your policy will also vary depending on your job, your income, how long you have to wait for benefits to be paid and also features like cost of living.
If you have any questions about the right disability policy, you can order the free consumer guide, written by Florida Long Term Disability ERISA attorney, Robbed of Your Peace of Mind at www.caveylaw.com.