Do you need disability insurance?

You buy insurance to protect many important things in your life. For example, home insurance protects your dwelling and many of your valuables. Car insurance protects your vehicle. While there is nothing wrong with buying these types of insurance, you may not be protecting your greatest asset: you.

Most people who shy away from buying disability insurance do so because they don’t want to part with the money. They are healthy now and assume this will remain the case for the rest of their working life. Unfortunately, this is flawed thinking.

Once you realize that you could become ill or injured to the point of not being able to work, you may take on the process of buying a disability insurance policy.

Before you purchase individual disability insurance, consider the fact that your employer may provide you with this benefit through a group policy. For some, this is good enough. For others, those who don’t believe they will be at their job forever, buying an individual policy still makes sense.

You are not required to buy disability insurance. You have the right to decide for or against this. As long as you know the benefits, you can make an informed decision regarding this type of coverage.

As you learn more about individual disability insurance, make sure you take into consideration the terms and conditions of your policy. What does it cover? How much does it pay if you need to collect? What are the reasons for denial? Knowing these details can help you avoid trouble with your insurance company should you need to make a claim.

Source: USA Today, “Should you consider disability insurance?,” accessed Jan. 19, 2016