How Will You Take Care Of Yourself If You Cannot Work? 
Richard Mills
Risk Management
The ability to earn income is your most important asset. All future plans – from buying a home and funding your children’s education to retiring comfortably – depend on your ability to earn a paycheck until retirement. But during your career, you stand a three-in-10 chance of suffering a disabling illness or injury which would keep you out of work for three months or longer.1
This may seem unlikely, especially if your job doesn’t require manual labor. But note that illness accounts for 90 percent of the disabilities that keep people out of work.1
This is where disability insurance comes into play: it provides income if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.
Although modern medicine has remarkably progressed over the last half century, the number of disabled persons has steadily increased. The disabled community – which constitutes more than 20 percent of the U.S. population – is the single largest minority group in the United States.2
Many of these folks are unable to earn a continuous lifestyle sustaining paycheck.2
Since many recovering disabled persons continue work and rehabilitation, insurance companies have confidence in the disability market. They believe most claimants want to return to work full-time. This is why they offer the residual rider – monthly benefits to make up for income gaps for those who have returned to work, but are not well enough to work at normal levels.
The residual rider enables a person who is not completely disabled to transition back to the workforce with enough time for proper rehabilitation while gradually reacquiring any diminished skills.
Take the time to review your own situation for disability coverage, which is available through many employers. Review the definitions of your plan or look for professional help to determine if the coverage is adequate both in terms of replacing your income and in delivering the right kind of protection.
If you would like a review of your disability insurance plan, call Richard Mills at (614) 471-2211.
1. Life Happens
2. Peterson International Underwriters.