The Importance of Owning Disability Insurance

A large number of Americans believe that they will never become disabled despite statistics to the contrary. An article from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2014, only 34 percent of private industry workers participated in their employer’s Long Term Disability Insurance program.

Compare that number to the likelihood of becoming disabled during their working lifetime:

A typical male, age 35, 5 foot 10 inches, 170 pounds, non‑smoker, who works an office job, with some outdoor physical responsibilities and who leads a healthy lifestyle has a 21 percent chance of becoming disabled for 3 months or longer during his career; with a 38 percent chance that the disability would last 5 years or longer and with the average disability for someone like him lasting 82 months.

A typical female, age 35, 5 foot 4 inches, 125 pounds, non‑smoker who works an office job, with some outdoor physical responsibilities and who leads a healthy lifestyle has a 24 percent chance of becoming disabled for 3 months or longer during her working career; a 38 percent chance that the disability would last 5 years or longer, and with the average disability for someone like her lasting 82 months. According to these statistics, 67 percent of American employees are at risk if they should become disabled and unable to work. Our office recommends the following:

• If your employer offers disability insurance, participate in the program. Social Security disability benefits can take years to obtain in many instances.

• If your employer offers disability insurance and you have a policy, consider buying a private policy. If you have a certain lifestyle that you would want to maintain, chances are very good that the policy from your employer will not be enough for more than subsistence levels.

If your disability insurance has been denied, delayed or terminated please call our office for a free consultation.