Seen a fellow employee lose on this, he was off for 3 months on a back issue, no pay check. did this at his home not at work.

So, Its got me a thinking about disability insurance, this is the only insurance that i do not have. My work doesn't offer it except they do have Aflac come in once a year for sign ups.

Any of you people have a comment on the need for this, and or who's a good insurance? I have statefarm and wasn't impressed with what they offered.

Hadnt really thought about it until this post.  Ill be looking into this soon.  Thanks.

The only insurance I carry is when I have notes or loans at the bank.  I've seen DI keep people from sinking tough, definitely a good idea.

When it comes to matters of disability, either short-term or long-term, the best advice I can give is to talk to an attorney who specializes in disability cases. The insurance companies don't want to pay, and you can easily lose everything you own before ever seeing a single cent from them.

It saved my bacon. If you work for a company and they don't offer it ask them to check on it. GSTD(Group Short Term Disability) is not an expensive product if the company has more than a few employees. Several ways to structure it to keep the rates manageable.

We had temporary disability insurance in RI that part of your check goes towards every week and it has saved me twice, but you only get what you put in and don't get paid after 6 months. I'm starting to think about looking into Disability Insurance though because of my recent diagnoses.

I had a real eye opener back over memorial day weekend of 2009. Emergency surgery, hospital stay luckily I was back to normal in 3 weeks or so. However I did get disability ins 3 months after that just in case. I opted for the long term disability ins. If I remember right I need to be unable to preform my workday duties for 3 months and they will start cutting me checks. In my case with the plan I chose I would get these checks until I hit 65 and was able for social security, I also opted for the cola (Cost of Living Allowance) rider. I dont have a wife or kids so its just me, however I dont want to lose my house or other property. HTH

The premiums are relative to the nature of your work.  The more dangerous or a profession where one is around contagious people such as a Dr. or nurse the rates are higher.  Your medical history is considered and some pre existing conditions can be a no no.  Insurance companies employ detectives to make sure you are not playing golf when off with a back injury for example.  The business I was in and the income I wanted created a very high premium.  It's a good idea if one can afford.

Disability insurance varies from state to state so check with your state regulations.  There are also other factors and questions that need to be asked when checking into such.  You need to ask whether the insurance is job specific or if it just general.  I am a dentist and when I was looking into my insurance there was a large difference between carriers.  A lot of them said as long as I could work anywhere I was not disabled.  The one I ended up with states that if I am not able to practice in my own office more than 16 hours a week then I am considered disabled.  That also allows me to practice in a teaching environment even if I am "disabled" and draw from my disability insurance.  Most of the ones I checked into said that as long as I could sit at Wal-Mart and hand out smiley stickers I would not get paid. 

The other thing to mention is how you get paid.  You can get insurance that will cover you from day one or farther out on your disability. The farther out you go the less premiums you will have o pay.  On average the 90 day mark is where you begin to see significant breaks in premiums.  So you will have to wait the waiting period before you can draw income.  The other issue is simple, if you pay for your insurance with you own after tax money then your benefits are tax free.  If you pay for them before taxes or your company pays for them then the benefits will be taxed.  This is something to keep in mind when applying for an amount.  If you are going to get taxed them try to claim a higher amount when signing up. 

If you are concerned about the Cost of Living then definitely sign up for the COLA option that most companies offer.  This allows for your benefits to increase as the cost of living does.  Most of the time it is at a set rate.  There are also options that allow you to purchase other "riders" so that if you see a large increase in pay you can increase your insurance as well.  I know when I got my insurance right out of school I was not making the same pay I make now.  They only offered me a benefit based on the income I was currently making.  I opted for the increase rider knowing that my income would more than likely increase as I established myself and my practice. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies, instead of quoting everyone, I'd like to hear from some of you if you went out and got your own and what you think of the carrier/good deal or not, you see this is what I would have to do. I checked out aflac and I can get a percent of my income but its 60 a month and its short term.(3 to 6 months)

I checked out statefarm(my insurance) and i can get a mortgage payment coverage long term(3 yrs) for 25 bucks a month, as you see its wildly apart?

Once again my work doesn't offer it except they bring in aflac once a year for sign up.

The premiums are relative to the nature of your work. The more dangerous or a profession where one is around contagious people such as a Dr. or nurse the rates are higher. Your medical history is considered and some pre existing conditions can be a no no. Insurance companies employ detectives to make sure you are not playing golf when off with a back injury for example. The business I was in and the income I wanted created a very high premium. It's a good idea if one can afford.

X2

I'm in the construction trades. I get coverage from my union although not much. Prior to working for my current employer I worked for a non union shop with crappy insurance and no disability. I had gotten quotes upwards of a couple hundred a month.

I have Aflac.

Costs me about $800 a year.

The pay out is great for what I have setup.

If I go to the hospital I get $200 I think.

$2000 a night in the hospital.

Lots of other perks.

I have it setup for work and personal injury - i.e - fishing accident, motorcycle crash, falling down the steps...ect.

Work and play payouts are different.

My agent is great to work with too. He is very strait forward about how the claims work and will play out.

Yes I have it through work and I am glad of it.They pay 26 weeks full pay and then another 26 weeks 50% pay.It starts the day you go off also,which is great.I am not bragging,just thankful.

I bought my own through a company called 4disability and it is a Berkshire plan.  I have also checkout of state farm, farm bureau and AFLAC.  Since I have increased my rider for increasing income I am now paying about $215 a month.  It covers me for almost $9500 a month and it gives me the annual COLA rider.  I begin collecting at 90 days from disability and it will cover me until age 65 at 100% that benefit.  Again, it specifically states that if I cannot practice in my office more than 16 hours a week.  I am able to work anywhere else and still collect 100% of my benefit still.  Yeah $215 a month is a bit of cash, but I am the only income provider in my family and I have 4 kids and a crap load of debt since I started my own business and built a house all within the last 6 years.  I needed something to cover it all if something was to happen.

Just my 2 cents....watch AFLAC.  I used to offer it in my office as a benefit and there are a lot of limitations and exclusions on their policies.  They are also not cheap when compared to other companies. 

I may have missed it since I quickly scanned this thread.

But, no one mentioned Social Security.  If you are enrolled (making contributions from your pay) in Social Security you already have disability insurance, of some sort.

I'm not familiar with the particulars, but I do know a fellow who was injured at work, and qualified for it. 

It won't pay what you were making, like some policies will, but you should consider it when determining how much you need to survive comfortably in the event you become disabled.

It will pay what you would have qualified for to get full benefits at 66 years of age.  The age thing depends upon the individual, since  the age for maximum benefits is incrementally rising.

It doesn't matter your age at the time of your disability.  You begin collecting max from the time you qualify as disabled.

I bought my own through a company called 4disability and it is a Berkshire plan. I have also checkout of state farm, farm bureau and AFLAC. Since I have increased my rider for increasing income I am now paying about $215 a month. It covers me for almost $9500 a month and it gives me the annual COLA rider. I begin collecting at 90 days from disability and it will cover me until age 65 at 100% that benefit. Again, it specifically states that if I cannot practice in my office more than 16 hours a week. I am able to work anywhere else and still collect 100% of my benefit still. Yeah $215 a month is a bit of cash, but I am the only income provider in my family and I have 4 kids and a crap load of debt since I started my own business and built a house all within the last 6 years. I needed something to cover it all if something was to happen.

Just my 2 cents....watch AFLAC. I used to offer it in my office as a benefit and there are a lot of limitations and exclusions on their policies. They are also not cheap when compared to other companies.

Great report, I'll see if they got a web site.

wait a minute do they have a web site?

I am not sure if they have a website or not. I will check this evening if I get home at a decent hour. I have the paperwork at my house. Since it is a berkshire policy I bet they have them listed as an "agent". I know berkshire has a website theberkshire.com

Social Security is good as long as you qualify. I have seen many people dragged out to the very end only to be denied for either a short term or long term disability. My aunt who just passed two night ago went through 2 years of court drama when her doctors told her she could not work anymore and was disabled. My brother-in-law is going through it right not after he was disabled through the military for a stroke at 39 y.o. Yet I also know people who can work who were cleared on the first go around. So if I had to hedge my bets on getting that money to survive on, I would rather pay for additional insurance.