The present days’ lifestyles have brought humans a ton of risks to contend with. Irrespective of how odd it might seem to some, preparing ahead to tackle those risks is one of the best decisions anyone can make.

One of the ways through which you can prepare for unforeseen circumstances in today’s world is to subscribe to disability insurance.

This insurance provides you with coverage against untold circumstances such as accidents.

When you opt for disability insurance, you’re sure to get part of your income coupled with any medical expenses you might incur during the experience.

Types of Disability Insurance

It’s an insurance that offers your maximum benefits and coverage for both a short and long time period.

In this article, you’ll get to know the different types of disability insurance available. Let’s get started!

Short term disability insurance 

This type of disability insurance replaces a percentage of your income when you experience a temporary injury, which makes it impossible for you to work.

It’s an insurance that’s perfect for events that reduce your capability to perform duties at your workstation.

Events such as back surgery, pregnant teachers giving birth and whatnot are some of the instances where short term disability insurance can come into play.

You don’t necessarily have to be a part of a group to obtain short-term disability insurance because, as an individual, you can always get this coverage as well. As a qualified person for this type of insurance, you’ll get reimbursed for an estimated 60 per cent of your lost wages.

Sometimes, the coverage benefits may be as high as 70 per cent of the lost wages or can be as low as 40 per cent depending on the policy in play by the private insurance company.

You have an elimination period of 14 days before the benefits start, but you can expect to be reimbursed as fast as just seven days.

Long term disability insurance 

On the flip side, long term disability insurance is a type of income protection that is carefully designed to cover serious unforeseen circumstances that may keep an individual out of work for three or more months.

Also, this insurance covers those circumstances that might render the victim incapable of returning to work permanently.

This type of insurance is always referred to as a smart investment for any employee because it secures the financial future of the subscriber. This insurance coverage can be accessed by a private individual or a part of a group under the employee.

You’ll have to commit to making recurring premium payments, which is always a month-to-month affair.

Once you’re committed to this monthly subscription, the insurance company will ensure you’re covered financially when you suffer any long term unforeseen circumstances that make it unable for you to work for a ton of hours daily.

Long term disability insurance takes care of a certain percentage of your income – the actual benefit size is dependent on the policy. On average, the company offers from 60 to 80 per cent of your income.

Supplemental disability insurance 

Supplemental disability insurance is another type of disability insurance that provides coverage for you at the time of illness or injury. This insurance takes off the burden of bills when an illness reared its ugly head against you.

The difference between what you’ll receive from your current long-term disability policy and what you’d need to maintain your present lifestyle due to injury is covered with this type of insurance.

It provides you with coverage benefits that will deal with any trouble you might find yourself in.

You’ll need supplemental disability insurance if you’re looking forward to extending the monthly benefit maximum for insurance coverage. This type of insurance also extends the length of possible claim payments.

Mortgage Disability Insurance

This is an insurance that takes care of your ongoing mortgage payments for a specified period of time if you run into a sickness that makes you unable to perform your work. This is a type of insurance that is purchased with Mortgage Life Insurance.

With this type of insurance, there’s usually a waiting period of 60 days after the initial diagnosis, after which the coverage will kick off.

The coverage continues to run till you reach a designated maximum period of 2 years or till you resume back at work.

Furthermore, the insurance company will pay a maximum monthly benefit plus the disability insurance premium for your mortgage.

The cost of this type of disability insurance is by your age at the time of application and the amount of your mortgage payment – principal and interest inclusive.

Social Security Disability Insurance

Here’s another type of disability insurance that provides coverage for adults who have worked for years but unable to again due to a disability.

With this insurance, you and your family members are insured once subscribed to this because you’ve worked and paid social security taxes long enough to be able to access this coverage.

The level of your coverage with social security disability insurance differs from the others mentioned earlier, as this depends on your lifetime average earnings covered by social security.

Within six months of having the health challenge, this coverage will be disbursed, and it will take not more than one year prior to application.

You’re eligible to apply once you meet the minimum requirements. This also means your family member who is dependent on your will also receive benefits of the coverage because you cannot work for the time being.

Your application for the social security disability insurance will be considered if you cannot work due to an illness if you cannot do the same work as your past work any longer, or the committee decides that you cannot adjust to other work due to your medical conditions and if your expected day of recovery isn’t more than a year.

Final thoughts 

There are many types of disability insurance out there today, but what’s crucial is that you key into one that you believe will cater for your needs the most.

Though the availability of many options can make it a daunting experience for one to pick one, with highlighted points above, you should be able to subscribe for disability insurance that will work best for your needs.

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chibueze uchegbu Author

Chibueze Uchegbu is a certified medical physiologist with a great passion for healthy living.