Tag: disability

Disability Insurance for Individuals as its name suggests is the type of insurance product that provides income in a situation in which a policyholder is prevented from working and earning an income due to a disability.

In the United States, individuals can obtain disability insurance from the government through the Social Security System. They can also purchase individual disability insurance from private insurers.

How Disability Insurance Works

Most times, insurance products will protect against a specific loss, such as when a property and casualty insurance plan reimburses the policyholder for the value of the stolen property.

However, in the case of disability insurance, this compensation relates to the lost income caused by a disability.

For example, if a worker earned $40,000 per year prior to becoming disabled, and if their disability stops them from continuing to work, their disability insurance would compensate them for a portion of their lost income provided that they qualify.

In this sense, disability insurance essentially covers the opportunity cost of the now-disabled worker.

In practice, there are many conditions that a policyholder must fulfill in order to receive these payouts. This is particularly true in regard to the U.S. Social Security System.

To qualify for government-sponsored disability insurance, applicants must prove that their disability is so severe that it prevents them from engaging in any type of meaningful work at all.

By contrast, some private plans only require the applicant to demonstrate that they can no longer continue in the same line of work that they were previously engaged in.

The Social Security System also requires applicants to demonstrate that their disability is expected to last for at least 12 months or that it is expected to result in death.

As with all types of insurance, disability insurance plans will always carry more expensive premiums if their terms and conditions are more favorable to the policyholder. On the other hand, plans with less generous terms will typically carry lower insurance premiums.

Some of the key features that affect insurance premiums in disability insurance plans include the length of the elimination period, which is the length of time that the applicant must wait after becoming disabled before they can begin receiving benefits accrued; the benefit period, which is how long those benefits continue to be paid; and how strict the definition of “disability” is under the policy.

The cost of Disability Insurance

On a rough estimate, disability insurance typically costs about 2% of the annual salary of the person being insured.

Of course, the actual amount will heavily depend on the insurance carrier and on policy features such as those discussed above.

Different individuals will have different preferences in terms of how much they are willing to pay in exchange for greater or poorer protections from potential disability.

To better bring home the point, consider two hypothetical workers. Worker P is a professional working in a highly specialized field.

It took Worker P ten years of post-secondary education to become qualified in their field, and this has allowed them to generate a relatively large income of $250,000 per year. Worker Q, on the other hand, is a high-school graduate who regularly switches between jobs and earns about $30,000 per year.

Worker P knows that, if they become disabled, they may still be able to work in another field, but this would very likely require a significant loss of income. For this reason, they decide to purchase a relatively expensive disability insurance plan that has a flexible definition of disability.

Because of Worker A’s high income, they can easily afford their relatively high premiums. Worker Q, on the other hand, decides to opt for a plan with lower premiums even if that plan has a stricter definition of disability.

In addition to having fewer resources available to pay for premiums, Worker Q is also less reluctant to work in an area outside of their current occupation, since the nature of their work is less specialized.

Types of Disability Insurance

• Short-Term Disability (STD)
• Long-Term Disability (LTD)

Short-Term Disability

These policies have a waiting period of 0 to 14 days with a maximum benefit period of no longer than two years while Long-Term Disability policies have a waiting period of several weeks to several months with a maximum benefit period ranging from a few years to the rest of your life.

Disability policies have two different protection features that are important to understand:

Non- cancelable: it means the policy cannot be canceled by the insurance company, except for nonpayment of premiums.

This gives you the right to renew the policy every year without an increase in the premium or a reduction in benefits.

Guaranteed renewable: this gives you the right to renew the policy with the same benefits and not have the policy canceled by the company.

However, your insurer has the right to increase your premiums as long as it does so for all other policyholders in the same rating class as you.

In addition to the traditional disability policies, there are several options you should consider when purchasing a policy. Your insurance company gives you the right to buy additional insurance at a later time.

Coordination of benefits

The amount of benefits you receive from your insurance company is dependent on other benefits you receive because of your disability.

Your policy specifies a target amount you will receive from all the policies combined, so this policy will make up the difference not paid by other policies.

Cost of living adjustment (COLA) The COLA increases your disability benefits over time based on the increased cost of living measured by the Consumer Price Index. You will pay a higher premium if you select the COLA.

Residual or partial disability rider; This provision allows you to return to work part-time, collect part of your salary and receive a partial disability payment if you are still partially disabled.

Return of premium

This provision requires the insurance company to refund part of your premium if no claims are made for a specific period of time declared in the policy.

Waiver of premium provision; this clause means that you do not have to pay premiums on the policy after you’re disabled for 90 days.

Long-term disability

Long-term disability (LTD) insurance helps protect your ability to provide for your family and make sure that you have enough money to pay for essentials if you are too sick or injured to work.

But not all illnesses or injuries qualify as disabling conditions that would cause disability insurance to kick in.

Having some long-term disability insurance examples will help you figure out how long-term disability insurance works. Long-term disability insurance benefits may expire upon termination of employment.

Long-term disability insurance examples are a good way to show the benefits of long-term disability insurance.

Because not every medical condition or injury qualifies as disabling or is considered disabling enough to trigger the payout of limited insurance benefits. examples can be used to demonstrate the types of illnesses or injuries that may qualify for benefits.

When an insurance company is evaluating whether or not your condition is considered to be a long-term disability there are many factors that go into making that decision. That’s why it’s important that you have medical records that accurately show all of your symptoms as well as medical tests and other assessments.

For example, if your pain level is high and that makes it impossible to sleep so you have fatigue in addition to other symptoms that could be more disabling than just the original injury or condition that you have.

As a general rule, conditions that are recognized by the Social Security Administration as disabling should also qualify as disabling conditions for long-term disability insurance purposes, although that may not be true for every condition.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a list of the conditions it considers disabling that contains more than 200 conditions and any special requirements that must be met.

The conditions and requirements are published in the SSA’s Blue Book, which you can search through online to see if the condition that you have is listed in the book.

When the Social Security Administration is evaluating whether or not a condition is disabling when the person doesn’t meet all of the requirements that are in the SSA’s Blue Book they look at factors like:

Your age: If you’re older and become sick or injured it may be harder for you to go back to work than it would be for a younger person, so your age plays a factor in whether or not your condition is considered disabling.

Your education: If you haven’t had any formal education in any other field than the one you’re currently working in, you will be less likely to be able to pivot to another type of work. If you can’t do the work that you were educated to do, it’s more likely that you’ll be considered to be disabled.

Your work history: If you have been working in the same type of job your whole career or for more than ten years and you have no training in any other types of work when you can no longer do that kind of work, it makes your case that you are disabled stronger.

Your medical condition: If you develop a progressive illness that will only get worse as time goes on, that will impact whether or not you’re considered disabled because it means that you won’t recover and be able to go back to work.

No matter what your medical condition or injury is if it’s something that is progressive it’s disabling because there is no chance you will recover and be able to work again the way you did before your condition began.

What medical conditions typically qualify for long-term disability insurance?

When people think about not being able to work for a long time or becoming permanently disabled they usually think about being injured in a car crash or some other kind of accident.

But there are many illnesses that are typically considered disabling, especially if they make it impossible for you to continue doing the only type of work you’ve ever known.

What medical conditions qualify for long-term disability?

There are dozens of health conditions that may qualify someone to receive disability benefits from their long-term disability insurance.

Autoimmune disorders like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia can be permanently disabling. So can diseases like HIV/AIDS, Degenerative Disc Diseases, and Crohns’s Disease.

Mental health conditions like Depression and Bi-polar Disorder also can qualify as permanently disabling if they are severe enough.

There are also conditions that can directly impact someone’s ability to work, like Osteoarthritis, which are considered permanently disabling in some circumstances.

There are medical conditions in every branch of medicine that typically qualify as permanently disabling like:

Neurological Disorders: Neuropathy, Parkinson’s, Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Alzheimer’s (early onset), Bell’s palsy

Respiratory Disorders: Asthma, COPD, Emphysema, Sarcoidosis, Pneumonia, Chronic lung infections.

Cardiovascular Disorders: Chronic Venous Insufficiency, Hypertension, Congestive Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Coronary Artery Disease, Stroke, Periphery Artery Disease, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Back pain Carpal Tunnel Disorder

Fractures: Herniated Disc, Arthritis, Spina, Bifida, Tendonitis Sciatica

Other medical conditions like burns, vision loss, macular degeneration, and hearing loss may be considered to be disabling if they meet certain criteria.

Disability Insurance Benefits

There are other conditions and injuries that are considered disabling too, like some types of cancer. What illness qualifies for long-term disability depends on factors like the severity of the condition and how much medical evidence you have.

Whether or not a condition is qualified as disabling often depends on the details of your unique situation.

If your cancer is treatable then you might qualify for disability insurance benefits while you are in treatment and can’t work but you might be expected to go back to work once the treatment is successfully finished.

But the same cancer in another person might not respond to treatment and then that person would be permanently disabled.

That’s why it’s critically important to have as much medical documentation of your condition as you can get.

Make sure that you have multiple copies of any test results like MRIs, or blood tests, or PET scans. Biopsies, X-rays, and other medical test results will help prove that your condition is going to make it impossible for you to work.

Save all of the medical documentation that you are given by your doctor or the hospital and request your medical history from your primary treatment facility so that you will have a copy on hand.

What other scenarios qualify for long-term disability insurance?

If your medical illness is a pre-existing condition long-term disability insurance may not pay out any benefits.

It’s very important to get a long-term disability insurance policy in place as soon as you can so that if you do develop an illness, it’s not diagnosed before you buy insurance. Anything that is diagnosed before the long-term disability policy is active is considered a pre-existing condition and may not be covered.

How to apply for long-term disability insurance & Insights

All insurance is designed to help protect you against things that might happen, but long-term disability insurance can only help you protect you against qualifying illnesses or injuries that you don’t have yet.

Pre-existing conditions or injuries aren’t covered. Buying a long-term disability insurance policy now while you are healthy is the best way to prepare for a future where that might not always be the case.

If you haven’t already purchased long-term disability insurance you shouldn’t wait to get a policy. You can get a long-term disability insurance quote from your broker so that you apply immediately. You can sign up after you might have studied and understood the terms and conditions of the policy document.

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If you become unable to work due to illness or injury, disability insurance can help you pay your bills.

Disability affects more people and occurs more frequently than you might believe. The illness causes more disabilities than injury, including common ailments such as heart disease and arthritis, and the majority of disabilities are not covered by Workman’s Compensation.

Some firms will provide their employees with both short and long term disability insurance. A short term policy assists you quickly following an occurrence, whereas a long term policy provides cash protection for disabilities that can persist for years.

You can also pay for supplementary coverage on top of your employer-provided benefits to help provide further financial security.

Long Term Disability Insurance

Many firms provide long term disability insurance plans that function in conjunction with their short term disability insurance policies, such that when the short term disability insurance plan terminates, income replacement benefits under the LTD plan begin.

Long term disability insurance for permanently disabled individuals may continue until the employee’s normal retirement date or until the employee becomes eligible for Social Security disability benefits (discussed later), though some policies provide more limited income replacement benefits, such as for up to 24 or 36 months. Paid long term disability insurance is also integrated with other sources of income when possible.

According to the BLS, most employers pay the entire price for LTD insurance plans, and employees are eligible for LTD insurance after a three to six month waiting period after being disabled.

Long term disability insurance(LTD), like short term disability insurance, does not provide job protection; the requirements to keep an employee’s job and reinstate the employee after an LTD absence are generally determined by an employer’s internal policies and practices, as well as state and federal laws such as the FMLA and the ADA.

The tax effects of receiving long term disability(LTD) insurance vary depending on whether the employee paid the entire cost, a portion of the cost, or the employer paid for the entire plan.

Do I Need Short Term Or Long Term Disability Insurance?

The most significant distinction between short term disability insurance(STD) and long term disability insurance(LTD) is the amount of time you will get benefits if you are unable to work. This is known as the benefit phase.

Short term disability insurance, as the name implies, is designed to cover you for a limited time following an illness or injury that prevents you from working. While policies differ, short term disability insurance normally covers you for 13-26 weeks and can replace 40-70 percent of your income during that period.

Long term disability insurance, on the other hand, is meant to give benefits for a longer period, and benefit periods for long term disability insurance are typically mentioned in years: 5, 10, 20, or even until you reach retirement age, depending on your plan.

Long Term Disability Insurance Pregnancy

Although pregnancy is not a disability, debilitating problems can emerge during and after childbirth. The medical difficulties discussed above describe some of the factors that sometimes prohibit new mothers from returning to work.

Existing medical conditions raise your risk of developing a debilitating condition.

• Epilepsy
• Asthma
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Blood pressure is too high.
• Obesity (Body Mass Index over 30)
• Sickle cell disease
• Maternal age advancement
• Several pregnancies
• Smoking
• Abuse of drugs and alcohol
• Fibromyalgia

Short Term Disability Insurance

Employers may provide short term disability insurance (STD) plans that replace all or part of an employee’s income in the event of a temporary disability. An employee’s job will generally be determined by an employer’s internal policies and practices, as well as state and federal laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which will be discussed later.

Because many firms offer paid-time-off programs that cover shorter-term absences, short-term disability insurance often has a short front-end waiting period, such as seven days, before payments begin.

This waiting period also deters the misuse of disability insurance benefits. Income benefits are distributed on a planned percentage-of-pay basis, often 60% to 75% of the employee’s base pay, and benefits may be coordinated with other income such as paid sick leave to ensure that income benefits do not exceed 100% of base pay.

As a matter of plan design, an employer can allow or restrict the supplement of paid sick leave or other benefits in conjunction with short term disability insurance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average length of short term disability insurance coverage is 26 weeks.

Employers in other states may optionally offer fully contributory, partially contributory, or noncontributory short term disability insurance policies.

The tax consequences of income benefits received are determined by whether the employee paid the entire cost of the plan, a portion of the cost of the plan, or the entire cost of the plan was paid for by the employer.

Disability Insurance For Maternity Leave

When you go on maternity leave, you’ll need a financial plan to help you deal with the temporary loss of income.

This frequently entails pooling all available resources, including sick leave, savings, vacation pay, short term disability insurance, and long term disability coverage. Coverage waiting periods, benefit restrictions, exclusions, and handicap criteria are frequently included in the benefits. You must guarantee that you have appropriate financial resources available when you need them long before you begin your leave.

Pregnancy and other illnesses are typically not differentiated in company sick pay policies. They pay a percentage of your income, and the benefit normally lasts six weeks. After a normal delivery, an OBGYN will usually tell you that you can return to work.

If you develop an unexpected postnatal medical issue, your sick pay benefits will often be reduced after a short amount of time. Short-term disability payments are terminated based on the period specified in your company’s plan.

If you stay disabled, your employer-sponsored group long term disability plan will normally cover a portion of your income. To maintain a consistent source of income, you must assess your business plan before the need arises.

Life Disability Insurance

Life and disability insurance are critical for your entire family. It’s difficult to consider or plan for, but if you were to have a fatal or incapacitating accident or disease that interfered with your capacity to provide for your family, life and disability insurance might help you keep your family’s financial well-being.

The potential of life insurance to provide money for a surviving family’s continuous living needs and financial goals related to education, employment, and retirement is an evident role it plays. However, for families with special needs children, life insurance plays an even more important role.

Disability Insurance For Individuals

Individual disability insurance is appropriate for anyone who does not have disability insurance via their employer.

It’s also an option for high-income people who want to supplement their coverage. Not only may you purchase this coverage on your own, but it also follows you even if you change employment.

If you want more protection, you may wish to supplement your long term or individual disability plan with additional coverage.

Supplemental disability insurance can be an excellent addition for employees and individuals who want to preserve a larger portion of their salary, bonuses, or commissions. You could even be able to obtain a policy through your employer.

• Cost-influencing factors

Several things will influence how much you pay. Work with heavy machinery, for example, may pay more than someone who sits at a desk all day.

Your health also has an impact on cost, as persons with a history of disabling ailments such as back injuries, arthritis, and asthma may have to pay higher premiums.

Other factors include the elimination period, which is the amount of time you must be handicapped before receiving a benefit, and the benefit period, which is the amount of time an insurance company will pay for a benefit.

Features Of Disability Insurance For Individual

When shopping for a plan, inquire about which features may be appropriate for you. Many Guardian plans, for example, include the following features:

• Waiver of premium

A waiver of premium for disability is a provision in an insurance policy that stipulates that if the insured is disabled and receiving benefits, the insurance company will not force them to pay the premium. Unlike other insurance companies, we will continue to waive premiums for six months after you have recovered and your benefits have ended.

• Hospice care benefit

If you are accepted to a certified hospice program, you will be considered incapacitated (eligible for benefits), and the policy elimination period will be waived in many situations, allowing you to receive payments sooner.

• Unemployment premium suspension

Suspends premiums while you are unemployed, allowing you to stop paying premiums but keep your policy. However, coverage is halted while you are unemployed, so if you become incapacitated during that period, you will not be compensated.

• Occupational rehabilitation and modification and access benefit endorsement

Assists in the payment of occupational rehabilitation charges as well as the cost of modifying your workplace to accommodate physical restrictions.

• Disability Insurance Examples

Disability insurance normally costs about 2% of the person being insured’s annual wage. Of course, the exact amount will vary depending on the insurance company and policy characteristics such as those mentioned above.

Individuals will have various preferences in terms of how much they are ready to spend in exchange for better or worse disability protection.

As an example, take two hypothetical employees. Worker X is a highly skilled professional in a highly specialized industry.

Worker X received 10 years of post-secondary school to become qualified in their area, allowing them to earn a comparatively significant salary of $250,000 per year. Worker Y, on the other hand, is a high-school graduate who alternates between jobs regularly and earns around $30,000 per year.

Worker X understands that if they become incapacitated, they may be able to work in another sector, but this will almost certainly result in a considerable loss of revenue. As a result, they decide to buy a somewhat expensive disability insurance policy with a flexible definition of disability.

Worker X’s substantial income allows them to easily afford their somewhat high premiums. Worker Y, on the other hand, chooses a lower-cost plan, even though it has a stricter definition of disability. Worker Y is less hesitant to work in an area outside of their current occupation because the nature of their work is less specialized, in addition to having fewer resources accessible to pay for premiums.

Health And Disability Insurance

Disability is frequently misunderstood as a health concern. As a result, little effort is done to include people with disabilities in the health sector, which is also frequently disregarded in national disability strategies and action plans to implement and monitor the CRPD.

Attaining the best possible quality of health and well-being for everyone will be feasible only if governments recognize the need for a paradigm shift, realizing that global health goals can only be met when disability inclusion is core to health sector priorities, such as:

• Universalism in health care without financial hardship
• Protection during a health emergency
• Access to cross-sectoral public health measures such as water, sanitation, and hygiene

Disability inclusion is crucial to obtaining universal health coverage without financial hardship since people with disabilities are more likely to be:

• Three times more likely to be denied healthcare services
• Four times more likely to receive poor care in the healthcare system
• 50 percent more likely to incur catastrophic healthcare costs.

Disability inclusion is crucial to improving health-emergency protection since people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, which includes:

• Directly as a result of increased infection risk and access hurdles to healthcare
• Indirectly as a result of limits imposed to limit viral spread (e.g., disruptions in support services).

Disability inclusion is crucial to improving health and well-being since people with impairments are more likely to be:

• 4–10 times more likely to be subjected to violence
• At a higher risk of nonfatal injury in road traffic accidents

Children with special needs are:

• Three times more likely to be sexually abused
• Two times more likely malnourished.

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Here are the top reasons to Opt for a career to help persons with disabilities everyone should know.

According to a quick Google search, 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability, and despite this high number, not enough is going on to support the community.

Moreover, there’s still an ongoing struggle with accessibility and opportunities, making lives difficult for many individuals.

Reasons to Opt for a career to help persons with disabilities

Moreover, unless you choose to work in disability support, you don’t get to learn firsthand what hurdles the community is facing and where you can make a difference.

The small efforts you put in, from having conversations with them to understanding the levels of disability that exist, will enable you to steer conversations their way.

Discussions can help clear much misinformation and even influence people to push for acceptance instead of willful ignorance.

However, there are other numerous benefits you can reap if you decide to choose this challenging career.

The best jobs are those that challenge you enough for you to grow, and there is also nothing better than working in jobs that teach you more about people and rekindle kinship bonds.

Hence, if you’re looking to learn, grow, and even change the way you see the world, here’s why you should work with persons with disabilities:

Education Helps You Develop A Lucrative Career

A Doctor of Social Work Degree program is the best way to get a world-class education that will help you impact people’s lives, especially if you want a fulfilling career in an ever-growing field. Moreover, with the availability of online courses, you have more opportunities than before.

For instance, you can obtain a higher degree by enrolling in a DSW degree online, which will help you get on track and hone your skills.

Before you begin working with any community, you need to do your research to learn about the stigma around the community and where the state lacks in supporting them.

Apart from research, the fieldwork will also acquaint you with how society plays its discriminatory role. These factors will educate you to not only be a helpful worker but a worker-driven with a purpose.

It will also help you understand concepts like social justice, diversity, and even the ethics that go into helping a community better. The course will enlighten you and assist you in preparing yourself for a lifelong commitment to your work.

There Are Numerous Careers For You

Working with the disabled community doesn’t restrict you to a particular type of job. There are various disabilities that aren’t limited to psychological or physical limitations, and you can choose the niche that you feel you would handle and build a career for yourself.

Some career options include a home health aide, in which you would be part of a care team to look after your client. Care teams look after household chores, administer medicines and accompany the client.

Another career waiting for you is a disability support worker, in which your primary job is to improve your client’s life by assisting them with their everyday tasks. While these are only two examples, the field is extensive, with numerous options for you.

You Become Better At Your Job

When you work with the disabled community, it helps you become organized. This is an interpersonal skill that will help you in your career and your personal life as well.

You also learn several ways to help a disabled person without causing them any harm. This is also important in the line of your work as many times the caretaker can also possibly get injuries.

These injuries stem from the person with a disability suddenly jerking and hitting you, as they may not always cooperate while you’re giving them their medicine.

However, you can control your reaction to these situations, as you may learn how to deflect a blow and help them through an episode. The better you get at providing care, the better you can help a person with a disability and even take on more clients.

You Can Become A Better Advocate

Advocacy is the process in which you argue, support, and even defend a person or an ideology. As you work with the disabled community, you become more aware of their needs.

You will also learn more about the community’s approach to activism. You can play your part by sharing articles on social media that provide a better insight into what the community needs. If you feel like the state can do more, you can always file a petition and register your stance.

Another form of advocacy is education, which can help your social circle since it harbors misconceptions. Advocacy makes a significant difference in society, and you never know what part of your advocacy gets picked by others and can potentially help a community.

Your Interpersonal Skills Improve

You learn discipline, communication, and cultural sensitivity. All of these factors will play an essential role in your life in shaping you as a person.

There is a need for us to become more empathetic, kind, and even more respectful towards each other. Also, interpersonal skills make you a better member of the community, as you become more informed about your privilege instead of flaunting it to benefit yourself.

In addition, you can also use your newly found skills to work in other specialties within your career.

Wrap Up on Career to Help Persons with Disabilities

People with disabilities need help and support because living in a society that doesn’t understand them enough is challenging.

As you intend on pursuing a career in social work, you get an opportunity to educate yourself, grow as a person and polish your interpersonal skills. You also get a chance to learn more about the community to push for their advocacy.

The more you work with the disabled community, the better you get at your job. You can expand your horizons to teach and provide more research material for the disabled community with your expertise.

Eventually, all of this will pay off as harmony and acceptance within society for one another.

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