5 Tips For Getting the Best Disability Insurance
In today's world it is hard to make ends meet, little on keep up a
comfortable lifestyle, with both providers in the household working.
What do you do when for whatever reason you are unable to work for more
than an extremely short time? You must have some form of backup plan.
For the majority of American workers, there is support for this set of
situations.
For many Americans the possibility for disability insurance is provided by their employers, and even if it is not then all workers have the option of obtaining disability insurance on their own under a free-standing policy. So how do you choose the best disability insurance for your needs? How do you decide what disability insurance will provide you and your family with the coverage and resources that you need in order to meet the obligations you will have until a restoration on your income level can occur? Let's look at five basic tips for choosing the best disability insurance for you and your circumstances.
First, go with an industry leader, the most well known of the disability insurance carriers is AFLAC, who reminds us that we all need disability insurance with their famous tag line "if you get hurt and miss work, it don't hurt to miss work". They are the leader in disability insurance, but there are other well known providers such as Prudential, The Hartford and Farmers. All these providers are known for having top quality disability insurance coverage at competitive rates. If you work in the service or hospitality industry, you may also get discount coverage for disability insurance through CIGNA and StarBridge via your employers "neutral provider" plan.
Secondly, make sure that you know what the coverage includes as far as covered disabilities. Some plans include all types of disabilities no matter what the cause is such as AFLAC and The Hartford, others however only provide coverage for disabilities that result in a work related accident such as plans offered by CIGNA and StarBridge.
Third, make sure that you know what the coverage includes as far as what you are allowed to use the payments for. Some plans such as those offered by AFLAC and Blue Cross/Blue Shield allow you to use the payments for anything that you wish. These plans payout via cash checks to your name that you can deposit to your bank account and spend for any needs your family has. Other plans, such as the ones from Prudential and The Hartford, pay your bills for you and will only cover the bills that are explicitly stated in your coverage agreement, generally to include rent or mortgage, car payments and utilities.
The fourth tip for getting the best disabilities insurance is to make sure that you know how much you will have to pay as a premium every month. You need to also know how long a period of time is that you will need to be declared out of service before benefits kick in. With plans from providers such as Farmers and Aflac you are declared "out of service" as soon as you receive your first zero balance paycheck, and they provide a check the next week, this means that at max you may find yourself only 2-3 weeks behind on bills, still problematic but recoverable. Other plans such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield want you to be out of work for as long as four weeks and may take as much as another 2 weeks before your first check arrives. Granted, this check will be retroactive for the entire period, but will not cover finance charges and late fees that have incurred since.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the limitations as to how long the coverage lasts, many plans offer an additional option for "long-term disabilities" that can provide resources for as long as your organization keeps you on the books and in some cases for up to six months after your official and permanent termination. This is usually long enough for you to get your disability retirement process underway, so that you can replace your income with social security or pension payments.
For many Americans the possibility for disability insurance is provided by their employers, and even if it is not then all workers have the option of obtaining disability insurance on their own under a free-standing policy. So how do you choose the best disability insurance for your needs? How do you decide what disability insurance will provide you and your family with the coverage and resources that you need in order to meet the obligations you will have until a restoration on your income level can occur? Let's look at five basic tips for choosing the best disability insurance for you and your circumstances.
First, go with an industry leader, the most well known of the disability insurance carriers is AFLAC, who reminds us that we all need disability insurance with their famous tag line "if you get hurt and miss work, it don't hurt to miss work". They are the leader in disability insurance, but there are other well known providers such as Prudential, The Hartford and Farmers. All these providers are known for having top quality disability insurance coverage at competitive rates. If you work in the service or hospitality industry, you may also get discount coverage for disability insurance through CIGNA and StarBridge via your employers "neutral provider" plan.
Secondly, make sure that you know what the coverage includes as far as covered disabilities. Some plans include all types of disabilities no matter what the cause is such as AFLAC and The Hartford, others however only provide coverage for disabilities that result in a work related accident such as plans offered by CIGNA and StarBridge.
Third, make sure that you know what the coverage includes as far as what you are allowed to use the payments for. Some plans such as those offered by AFLAC and Blue Cross/Blue Shield allow you to use the payments for anything that you wish. These plans payout via cash checks to your name that you can deposit to your bank account and spend for any needs your family has. Other plans, such as the ones from Prudential and The Hartford, pay your bills for you and will only cover the bills that are explicitly stated in your coverage agreement, generally to include rent or mortgage, car payments and utilities.
The fourth tip for getting the best disabilities insurance is to make sure that you know how much you will have to pay as a premium every month. You need to also know how long a period of time is that you will need to be declared out of service before benefits kick in. With plans from providers such as Farmers and Aflac you are declared "out of service" as soon as you receive your first zero balance paycheck, and they provide a check the next week, this means that at max you may find yourself only 2-3 weeks behind on bills, still problematic but recoverable. Other plans such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield want you to be out of work for as long as four weeks and may take as much as another 2 weeks before your first check arrives. Granted, this check will be retroactive for the entire period, but will not cover finance charges and late fees that have incurred since.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the limitations as to how long the coverage lasts, many plans offer an additional option for "long-term disabilities" that can provide resources for as long as your organization keeps you on the books and in some cases for up to six months after your official and permanent termination. This is usually long enough for you to get your disability retirement process underway, so that you can replace your income with social security or pension payments.
0 Response to "5 Tips For Getting the Best Disability Insurance"
Post a Comment