Syndicated Financial Columnist, Host of the weekly talk show Steve Savant's Money, the Name of the Game, Scottsdale Arizona
There are several good disability insurance companies in the market place. Besides the premium differences between companies, you also have differing policy definitions on disability benefits. Add to this "Own Occ," which covers specific vocational skill sets like a brain surgeon. Different carriers also offer short and/or long term disability insurance polices that can also make a difference from carrier to carrier.
Most financial advisers recommend getting Long Term Disability over Short Term Disability because more people can survive a short period of being without income, rather than a long term period. Also, Long Term Disability Insurance is easier to get, with more companies offering it. And Short Term Disability Insurance is offered more commonly in the workplace.
If you can only afford to get one type of Disability Insurance, getting Long Term Disability Insurance is generally the recommended choice. That is because you can get it to pay years, up to a lifetime (retirement age) of benefits.
Most people can survive several months of no income, but would be devastated by several years of no income. Granted, Social Security Disability benefits may be approved after a year, but SSDI does not pay as much as private Disability Insurance, and you can get private DI benefits much faster.
Also you can purchase your DI policy to cover your own occupation, so that benefits can be collected even if you can work at "any" job, but not back at your "own" job.
Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
What disability insurance should I get? The one that gives you the best definition of "disability". The definition is everything with these types of policies. A life insurance policy, pretty much you're dead, they pay. With disability insurance, it comes down to the definition of disability to determine if the plan pays or not. The best definition of disability will usually be very short and straight forward because pretty much after the first couple sentences, the additional text is telling you what will change your coverage. A lot of words in this case isn't good for the consumer.
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Most people can survive several months of no income, but would be devastated by several years of no income. Granted, Social Security Disability benefits may be approved after a year, but SSDI does not pay as much as private Disability Insurance, and you can get private DI benefits much faster.
Also you can purchase your DI policy to cover your own occupation, so that benefits can be collected even if you can work at "any" job, but not back at your "own" job.