long term disability insurance?
I am interested in buying long term disability insurance. Anyone has a good company in mind to recommand?
Public Comments
- Check on line - insureme.com
- Hi, your friendly insurance guy here, again! Rather than just posting the URL of a web site, I thought I might offer some actual information. There are several companies that offer a strong claims paying ability, which should be a primary concern. Use Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and other rating services to find out which companies have strong financial ratings. It does no good to buy a policy and then have the company fold. Second, buy an appropriate product. Here's what that means: each product has different features and each can be right or wrong for a given situation. Here are some of the most important to look for: 1. Definition of disability: The definition of disability describes what has to happen to you in order to be considered disabled. Usually you have to be under a doctor's care, unable to perform your own job, and: First, losing two or more of the ADLs (Activities of Daily Living). That means you were not able to perform two or more of the following without substantial help: Eating, bathing, dressing, transferring (moving from a bed to a wheelchair, for example), toileting (ability to use toilet facilities) or continence (having control of bodily function regardless of whether you can get to the toilet or not). Second, presumptive disability: Usually this means any of the following: loss of two limbs, loss of sight, loss of hearing" Third, Cognitive impairment. example: Alzheimer's. Fourth, in some cases it can be simply that you're injured or ill to the point where it is no longer reasonably possible for you to perform your job. Know what your policy's requirements are. If you get one that has definitions of disability that are not appropriate you your life it will be less helpful. 2. Definition of earnings. Some companies define earnings as wages, meaning only salary or hourly pay. Some include commissions, bonuses and other items. Make sure your policy covers every way in which you earn money from your job or it will be less helpful. 3. Duration of benefits. Make sure that you have options that include "till age 65" or "till age 67." Having limited benefits means you may find yourself forced back to work because your disability benefits ran out. 4. Look for a policy that uses a "true Own Occupation" definition. That means you have to be unable to perform your own job. There is also "modofied Own Occupation" meaning not only do you have to be "not performing your own job" but you cannot be performing any other job, either. So why is that important? Let's say you're a cardiac surgeon. You make $500,000 annually. Then your hands get cut off in a tragic car accident. You may have Disability benefits that pay you several hundred thousand dollars annually. If you have "True Own Occ" you could go back to work teaching surgery theory at a university for $150,000 annually and your benefits would continue. If you have Modified Own Occ your benefits would stop as soon as you got hired for the new job. 5. Maximum benefit: If you are highly compensated, make sure your policy has a maximum benefit that can approach or exceed your income. Those are the things to look for. Consult with a good, local, independent agent to help you sort out which companies and policies will match your job and life. I believe Genworth has one of the best policies available for specialty service people, for example. Keep those major points in mind and you will do OK. Best wishes to you in your search.
