The United State’s Law FICA (federal Insurance Contributions Act) requires every employee to contribute part of their earnings to Medicare and Social Security funds. With these funds, employees who later become disabled can receive income insurance for at least a year. The disability insurance comes in as an income solution in case of a disability since the employee is not in a position to work for an income during the period of his disability. It covers both permanent and temporary disabilities. Disability insurance should therefore be part of anyone’s financial plans.

Many workers in the country today believe that the Social Security is able to take care of everything in the event of their disability. The problem is that qualifying for Social Security disability benefits is not so easy and it might take a very long time for you to start receiving the benefits. For your application to go through, you must prove that you are incapable of doing any work, not just your job. You do not qualify if you can be gainfully employed, even if it is for a minimum wage.

Another reason to consider disability insurance is in order to protect your family. Look at your emergency reserves and think about how long they can sustain your family budget in case of your disability. The truth is, even with the full Social Security disability benefit, you will still need to supplement the income in order to sustain your family. There are several other benefits that are covered in a long-term or short-term disability policy that you should think of.

Long-term disability insurance

This is a type of insurance policy that will protect an employee from loss of income in the event of a long-term disability as a result of an injury, illness or accident. In estimation, employees with long-term disabilities are likely to miss work for close to 2 ½ years. This is a very long time for a family to go without a sustainable income, which necessitates the long-term disability insurance. The insurance will however not compensate you if the disability is work-related and has been covered in the worker’s compensation insurance. But it will ensure that the employee will be able to receive a certain percentage of his income for the period of his disability.

The insurance policy is usually provided by the employer.  But if your company does not offer it and you want to enjoy additional coverage, you can still purchase it individually from an insurance agent.

Short-term disability insurance

Short-term disability insurance on the other hand is a type of insurance policy that protects an employee from loss of income in case he/she becomes disabled and is temporarily unable to work. Short-term disabilities can also be dues to injuries, accidents or illnesses. The policy however does not offer protection against work-related injuries and accidents, as these are usually covered in the worker’s compensation insurance.

With this insurance policy, an employee will receive a percentage of his income for the period of time he will be unable to work. The policy can be provided by your employer and there are different plans to choose from. If your company does not provide this type of insurance and you want additional coverage as an employee, you can always choose to purchase an individual plan from an insurance agent.

Temporary disability insurance has a short-term expiration though, and this means that one may not get to enjoy its full benefits especillay if the disability is of a long-term nature.

Conclusion

Disability insurance is very important even if you have other insurance policies. It is the kind of insurance that will give you great peace of mind when it is most needed. There are many reasons why you should take it:

1. It gives you the money you need, when you need it the most
2. It allows you time to recover, without worrying about your expenses and needs
3. The benefits you receive are usually tax free, therefore you get the full amount
4. You can still maintain your policy even if you change jobs
5. Everything you might need for your rehabilitation will be fully paid for.

With these and many other benefits, it is time to dig deep into disability benefits information to understand more about it.