Off Topic: Disability Insurance???

Dan Goodridge

2 key points to disability policies

1. Definition of disability-- Should be inability to perform YOUR JOB-- not any job

2. Length of benefits-- Should be to age 65

GW

questions to ask

hello, I considering a disability insurance policy. I don't know what to ask. It's nice for home owners to come to this site to learn about heating, is there a place to learn about insurance with professional interaction???

The agent/sales person came by the other day to close the deal, and all of a sudden my "salary" would be reduced becuase "if the benefit pays (net) what I get I get paid now (net), I wouldn't want to come back to work". Well that makes sense I guess, but why not tell me that on the first visit instead of me catching it when I divide the benefit into weekly payout?

Then, she doesn't tell me until the other day "I need the 1st years premium up front". When I ask "why didn't you tell me you needed several thouand dollars up front??", she goes, I'm sorry, I didn't think I needed to say anything" or something like that.

Anyway, thanks for any help on this. maybe I'm being too fussy.

Gary

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bruce_21

Shop around. get some more quotes. Ask questions about what happens if I this....... and what happens if I that..... Who determines when and how you are disabled? What are their criteria? Don't be afraid to be a "difficult" customer, its your money and you worked hard for it. Make them do the same.

Unknown

Like Bruce says

Gary, be careful as to what they classify a disability to perform any kind of work.
Not to be too negative, but I "think" the sales commission is 150% of your first years premium, cancel-it before a given time and that salesperson will have to pay-it back.

Dave

Tim_41

pay

Also, don't cheat yourself out of the payments. Mine is based on what I earn. Actually, I should review that since the cost of living has increased.

Maineiac

Dan is right. You better ask a lot of questions. Don't get surprised like I did. Since when is back surgery a elective surgery. I assure you I didn't get implants back there. You will find that they would rather have you in a wheel chair than walking. Write you questions down and sit face to face and get each question answered and documentation from the insurance co.

Vernon P. James_2

Don't know what state you are in but when I had a ruptured appendix 4 years ago I found out that New York state has a maximum cap of about $250 that it will allow to be paid each week for disability. For employees it is like 70% of average salary up to the capped amount for last 3 years. For sole proprietors like me I was able to draw the max -- $250 which didn't equate to any where close to what I had been drawing. So as the others have said check closely with the company to make sure of exactly what you will be paid and what their definition of disability is.

Edward A. (Ed) Carey_3

I ran into the same thing

I had it and ended up canceling it after I found what was NOT COVERED.

Never needed since, thank God.

After I got the policy and read it, (yea I actually did read it), I found that they would pay me until I could work again, and they could decide what they thought my work could be.

So I could be in some factory somewhere in a wheelchair, putting widgets together, and they would only owe me the difference between what I could earn, and the benefit that I purchased.

Also, if I was an accident, and hurt by someone else, (like a car accident). No matter how much premium I had already paid, I could not get paid the benefit, if an annuity payment by a responsible party exceeded my benefit.

In that event, they did not have to pay the benefit, but I would not get any premium refunded. Affectively, they just had to find an alternate source of income for me, (which I would have received anyway with or without that insurance), and then they did not have to pay my benefit.

I thought this not to be fair since the benefit was not anywhere as much as my actual income. I wanted it to “Just get by” in the event if a problem.

I could see that they would not want me to “Make money” off of such an event. If an annuity plus a benefit exceeded my actual income, I would have no problem with cutting the benefit, but to refuse the benefit for an annuity that was potentially below my actual income, but above their benefit amount, made no sense to me.

I also questioned this, saying if I was killed in the same car accident, my wife would get my life insurance, and then she could also get a payment from the responsible party, without one affecting the other. That is the way it worked, but NO GO for the disability ins.

Finally, it said that I would not be covered while participating in "Any Aviation Activity" except as a passenger on a scheduled commercial airline.

My Ins Agent knew that I was a licensed pilot, I own my own plane, and I am at the airport three or four times a week.

Next week I leave for Oshkosh Wi. EAA Airventure, (for the 24th year), where I stay at the airport on the property for a week. It is a pilgrimage for me.

I questioned him that if I was riding my bicycle on the airport property going to the air show, and fell off & broke my back, what happened?

I was told that I would have been participating in an "Aviation Activity" and would not be covered. That was the clincher.

Read over what you get VERY CAREFULLY.

The coverage is very expensive, and what it covers may be very thorough, or very limited.

Good luck