26 Apr Best Disability Insurance Companies

What are the Best Disability Insurance Companies?

Are you looking for the best disability insurance company? The best match can be determined by accessing cost, policy features, and your profession. 

Disability insurance is often overlooked when someone begins putting together their financial plan. Many individuals obtain disability insurance from their workplace and do not consider who the insurance provider is or whether the policy provides enough coverage for their needs. 

However, whether you are purchasing your own disability insurance – either because your company doesn’t have benefits or because you wish to supplement coverage offered by your employer – it’s critical to not just choose the correct policy, but also the right insurer. When shopping for disability insurance, make sure to look into insurer ratings, the best providers for your job, and the coverage features available. Researching beforehand will save you time, hassle, and money.

If you find yourself in a circumstance where you’re unable to function, you need to consider how you are going to pay your bills. As well as, how you are going to organize your future plans. Disability insurance is one way to ensure your paycheck is covered as it allows you to replace your wages if you are unable to work. 

So how are you going to find the best insurance provider to partner with? First, let’s look at how to obtain both short-term and long-term disability insurance.

Obtaining Disability Insurance

Whether it is short-term or long-term, disability insurance is a vital part of anyone’s financial security. It can guarantee that you have a stream of income coming in even when you’re unable to function due to sickness or injuries. 

It’s also more comprehensive than workers’ compensation, as it ensures that you’re able to cover your bills and stay on track with your financial ambitions. 

If you don’t have disability insurance, the application process is fairly straightforward. And you can make things much easier by understanding what to expect and by factoring in all the details you need. That way, when you start shopping, you’re guaranteed for a smooth experience. Plus, you can get covered fast.

Shopping for Disability insurance

When shopping for disability insurance, you should look into the coverage features and riders offered by each disability insurance provider. Additionally, check the financial and customer ratings to ensure you’re getting a policy that fits your needs.

Look into the details of the base policy. This covers topics like the elimination period or waiting period, which entails how long you have to wait before a company pays a benefit), the benefit period (how long the benefit is paid out), the policy’s concept of disability, and if you’re eligible for partial compensation if you can still function in a workplace. 

Long-Term Disability Insurance

Long-term disability (LTD) insurance is the type of income security that certain individuals need if they are unable to work for an extended period of time. In terms of disability insurance, long-term is the most cost-effective form because it’s easier to apply for, lasts the longest, and is the most comprehensive of the options. 

If you’re curious about how to qualify for long-term disability insurance, you should first understand why long-term disability insurance may be the most beneficial for you and your needs. For the most part, the entire process takes about four to six weeks. 

1. Determine the amount of coverage you will need. 

How should you begin the process of filing for disability insurance? By determining how much insurance you currently need. There are a couple of perspectives to consider:

• The Benefit Amount. This is the amount the insurance company will pay out per month. The majority of policyholders should reach for 60 percent of their after-tax income. Since long-term disability payments are normally not taxable, you should be able to maintain your current amount of income. 

• The Benefit Period. This is the duration of the benefits you’ll receive. Since the average disability lasts three years, a minimum five-year benefit term is recommended. Although, a benefit period that lasts until retirement would have the most security.

• The Elimination Period. This is the length of time it will take to start receiving benefits after making a claim – also referred to as the waiting time. A 90-day elimination period is recommended. Your disability insurance policy will be cheaper with a longer elimination period.

• The Cost of the Policy. If you feel that you won’t be able to afford the cost of the premiums, an insurance policy won’t benefit you much. The facts mentioned above impact the cost of coverage so you should know what you can afford before shopping for a policy. The majority of policies will cost between 1-3 percent of your annual salary. 

2. Know What Features to Look Into

A long-term disability insurance policy can be customized in a variety of ways. Certain options are available at no additional charge, while others allow you to tailor your policy to suit your unique needs by paying an additional fee.

Standard Features:

• Guaranteed Renewable
• Premium Waiver
• Automatic Increase Benefit
• Resumptive Total Disability
• Family Care Benefit
• Survivor or Death Benefit
• Occupational Rehabilitation

Popular Riders:

• Own-Occupation
• Non-Cancelable
• Residual or Partial Disability Benefit
• Future Purchase Option
• Student Loan
• Retirement Protection
• Critical Illness Benefit

Whether they meet particular needs or because they are too expensive, there are certain riders that may not be beneficial to you unless they provide additional security under unique circumstances. Riders such as a Social Security offset (which supplements Social Security disability insurance) and a cost-of-living adjustment (which raises monthly benefits to keep up with inflation) may be useful to certain households but are mostly avoided by policyholders. 

3. Compare Free Quotes

Don’t automatically invest in the first policy you find. Obtaining disability insurance quotes from various insurance providers is free of charge. Before making a decision, get a few quotes and compare them to ensure you are getting the correct policy at a reasonable price. 

4. Application

Once you have officially decided on a disability insurance policy, submit an application. A disability insurance application can be one to five pages long and includes questions about basic personal, financial, and health facts that pertain to the individual policyholder. 

5. Phone Interview with the Insurance Provider

After you have submitted your application, you’ll get a call from the insurance provider. The phone interview, also known as a confidential interview, will go further into medical questions to decide whether, for example, you have a pre-existing illness that will be excluded from coverage.

6. The Underwriting Process

The procedure for disability insurance underwriting is close to that of life insurance underwriting. In the disability underwriting process, there are three major steps: 

• A medical assessment may be performed to verify your fitness and medical records. It’s exactly the same as a normal physical test. The insurance agent can set up an appointment for you to take the test and will also assign a technician to your home or workplace. 
• Verify your wages with pay stubs or tax reports from the past year to ensure the level of insurance you’re applying for is sufficient. 
• A request for an attending physician’s statement (APS), which is your medical history as seen by your doctor.

Few insurance providers provide streamlined underwriting, which eliminates the need for a medical test and income verification, significantly shortening the application process.

7. Signing Your Policy

The disability provider will give you a policy, and all you have to do to get it in place is sign a copy, return it, and make the first premium payment. 

Before signing the policy, make sure to read it thoroughly. It will normally be released as-applied, which means it will be just what you wanted when you applied, although there might have been any last-minute revisions depending on the outcome of the phone interview or underwriting procedure, which increased or decreased the amount.

Short-Term Disability Insurance

The application process for short-term disability insurance is somewhat similar to that of long-term disability insurance. You’ll need to figure out how much coverage you want and how long you want it for. Also, it includes a lot of the same details about your health and wages. 

There are some major variations in long-term and short-term disability plans that you should be mindful of when applying:

• Short-term insurance, as the name suggests, has a shorter elimination period and benefit period. There is usually a two-week elimination period, and the benefits don’t last longer than a year. 
• A different benefit amount is also available. LTD insurance can cover up to 60 percent of your income, while short-term disability benefits can cover up to 80 percent. When deciding the coverage requirements, keep this in mind. 
• Short-term disability insurance is similar to long-term disability insurance in terms of premiums. However, it protects you for a shorter period of time. That means it’s not as cost-effective. Also, you’d be better off having subsidized coverage from your workplace rather than purchasing a private policy.
• Short-term disability insurance is offered by fewer insurance providers compared to long-term disability insurance. This means you will have to shop around a little harder to find a policy that meets your needs.

Best Disability Insurance Providers 

Nobody plans to require disability insurance. However, if it is, it’s important to be prepared. Here are some of the biggest disability insurance providers on the market right now. The following insurance providers have been rated and given outstanding financial strength scores.

Principal Financial Group

Long-term and short-term disability income insurance are both available through the Principal Financial group. Long-Term Disability insurance covers partial and permanent disability up to a $20,000 limit. The fair housing advantage provides for office changes to support you in returning to work. When you have a terminal disease, you might be eligible for accelerated pay. Both minor and permanent disabilities are covered by short-term disability benefits. Employee associations can choose between short-term and long-term plans. Maternity coverage, survivor coverage, and non-work-related disabilities are all eligible as policy riders.

Guardian Life

Individual, short-term, long-term, supplemental, and group disability benefits are provided by Guardian Life Insurance. They have a Provider Plus Policy option for individual long-term disability insurance with a true “own occupation” definition of complete disability. Depending on your job class, you have the ability to choose a benefit period that lasts for two, five, or ten years up to age 65 or 67. Riders for student loan forgiveness and disability insurance are also available.

The Hartford

Employers can choose between long-term and short-term disability benefit plans with The Hartford. Employer-sponsored long-term disability benefits with vocational and recovery services, a family support credit, and a job adjustment benefit are offered as well. Part-time workers who return to work can earn partial compensation. Employer-provided short-term disability insurance pays premiums of up to $2,000 a year with no restrictions on pre-existing conditions. Coverage is open to both full-time and part-time employment status. Support is offered to address mental health, legal obligations/complications, and financial problems. Also, your questions regarding medical care and claims concerns can be answered. 

MetLife

MetLife has both short- and long-term medical benefits. It provides three different types of disability insurance: 

• MetLife Income Guard: offers flexible coverage plans for executives and medical practitioners. 
• OMNI Essentials: Broad income security provision that can be customized and is perfect for budget-conscious policyholders. Coverage not offered in California. 
• Salary Saver: Coverage only available in California for medical professionals and executives.

Additional provision for hospital confinement benefits up to $500 a day is eligible as a policy rider. Their Accident-Related Medical Expense Rider covers $1,000 to $5,000 for all medical bills incurred as a result of an injury. Their Return of Benefits Rider is an option for a policyholder to obtain an unused premium. Their Social Insurance Supplement Rider pays extra benefits to policyholders who are not eligible for workers compensation or social security benefits. 

Assurity

Assurity’s medical insurance is guaranteed renewable to age 67. Also, benefits are available on both partial and complete disability. Benefits from insurance policies can be subject to restrictions and exclusions. Employees can choose between individual and group disability plans. Up to the age of 65 or 67, benefit periods are one, two, five, or ten years. The program provides guidelines for house upgrades, survivor compensation, and occupational rehabilitation. Added coverage is offered as policy riders, such as automatic benefit increase, catastrophic disability coverage, unconditional insurability, and critical condition compensation. 

Ameritas

Ameritas has both long- and short-term disability insurance. Ameritas offers disability income security benefit terms of two, five, or ten years for people aged 67 to 70. Policies are guaranteed renewable and have a good health bonus that extends the elimination time by two days for every year you go without filing a lawsuit. Waiver of premiums with claim acceptance, surgical transplant after six months, cosmetic injury (disability due to elective procedure), and payment for COBRA medical premiums if you become bankrupt due to a disability are all built-in advantages. When you do work but have a lower salary due to an accident or illness, riders are available for cost of living, traumatic disability, future increase option, and increased disability.