What is Disability Insurance
Disability insurance is a useful way to ensure a worker has a backup plan if they become injured or disabled. Unlike worker compensation programs, disability insurance can be used for disabilities that occur both inside and outside of work. Individuals are covered for many types of disability including back injury, severe illness and many other medical maladies.
Monthly premiums must be paid to a disability insurance company. Purchasing disability insurance may require you to take a physical, fill out a form or both. An insurance agent will then process your application and your policy will become active. It is important to make all premium payments on time and in full. Premiums that are not paid may result in your insurance becoming inactive. Premiums can differ in price based upon several factors. One of the main factors that effects disability insurance premiums is how old the purchaser is. The older an individual is, the higher the monthly premiums will be. General health, smoker or non smoker and even weight issues can effect a monthly premium that an individual will pay.
Once a policy has been purchased and is being paid for, it is extremely simple to file a claim. Should the owner of the policy become disabled, they will file a claim with their disability insurance company. This claim will need to have information from the owner of the policy and at least two doctors. The insurance company may require the owner of the policy to be examined by a doctor affiliated with the insurance company. This is to ensure that there is no fraud involved. After the claim has been filed the benefits will not be immediately released. There is a type of "deductible" involved with disability insurance. This period is called the elimination period. Nothing is actually eliminated it is just a waiting period between when an individual will file a claim and when benefits are paid. The period is typically 90 days but can be adjusted to several different lengths. Extending the period can reduce the amount of premium that you pay while shortening it will raise the premium.
Disability insurance is one of the most important types of insurance for an individual has. A disability can effect an individual at any time and any place. While saving for an emergency is always a good idea, it does not beat having an insurance policy in place just in case.