Disability Insurance -

Insurance for the Injured and the Sick

Disability Insurance

Insurance for the Injured and the Sick 3

Different Styles of Disability Insurance 10

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Disability Insurance

Insurance for the Injured and the Sick

Accidents happen at any given

time. Injury due to an accident often re-

sults in costly emergency room bills and

hospital stays. Some people become in-

jured and temporarily disabled. Thus,

they are unable to work for a certain

period of time. More often than not,

employers offer disability insurance

benefits for full-time employees to help

cover the costs of those unexpected and

highly expensive medical bills. Without

this insurance, out-of-pocket costs for

emergency room visits can be

alarmingly high.

With a specific

short term disability insurance

plan tailored to your needs, you can

receive a certain percentage of your

income while you are unable to work.

This amount is typically between 45 to

60 percent of your base salary. This

kind of disability insurance is

available for 3 to 6 months, and it is

usually effective immediately following

an injury. There is a maximum amount

of money you are allowed to receive

from this insurance plan, and there is

also a maximum length of time you can

be covered. If you think that you need to

receive benefits past six months, find

out from your employer what is avail-

able for a longer period of time.

In the event that you become

injured, applying for short term

disability insurance would be

beneficial. Although it is only a partial

amount of your earned income, it is

better than exhausting funds from a

savings or checking account to pay for

expenses during the time you are not

working and earning your full salary.

Also, it allows you to still receive some

money while you are temporarily out of

work.

If you are unable to work for a

certain amount of time due to illness,

you are also eligible to apply for short

term disability insurance. Unlike being

injured, however, if you are sick, there

may be a waiting period between the

time you apply and the time the benefits

are in effect. Also, before you can begin

to receive benefits, employers might re-

quire you to use all of your accumulated

sick days and any other time off that

you might have earned. Before apply-

ing, speak to a representative from your

human resources office to find out ex-

actly what is required by your employer.

This could help you avoid any issues

that could prolong the process and de-

lay the start date of which you can begin

to receive benefits. If you choose not

to go through your employer, you may

apply as an individual. If you are self-

employed, you are also eligible to apply

for short term disability insurance. By

applying for this insurance, you can

continue to earn money while in recov-

ery from an injury or sickness.

In the event that either occurs,

the last thing you should have to stress

over is your job and how being out of

work will affect yourself or your family

financially. It is beneficial to be

knowledgeable in the kinds of insurance

benefits you may be eligible to receive

even though you are not physically able

to go to work.

Disability Insurance

Different Styles of Disability Insurance

Disability insurance is an

important form of insurance, not only

to employees but also to employers. If

an employee is out of work on disability,

other problems such as finding a

replacement or finding ways to continue

productivity can occur. For this reason,

employers will want to research the

different types of insurance that they

are able to purchase.

Depending on the size of the

company, you may want to consider

different types of insurance which

will be able to cover not only your

employees but also yourself if some-

thing should happen.

Key Person Insurance is useful to

employers when the person who gets

put on disability is one of the most

important people in the company. An

example of this is the person who is in

charge of maintaining day to day opera-

tions on the floor.

This sort of insurance will allow

for the training of a new employee to

replace the one who was put on

disability. If the disabled employee is

scheduled to come back after a proce-

dure or rehab, you can put the new

employee on short term disability

insurance in order to continue with

proper employee insurance coverage

while they fill this temporary position.

Taking this step will ensure that an

employer is able to continue their daily

functions of the company without

added risk.

Business Overhead Expense

Insurance for protecting the employer.

If the employer should become disabled

and unable to work, this insurance will

help pick up some of the business

expenses he or she may have during this

time. This includes rent, utilities, and

even employee salaries during the

period in which the employer may be

out of work. This is to make sure that

the company continues to produce even

though the employer is unable to work.

Keeping this type of insurance

policy is a great idea for any sized

company, as it ensures operations

continue to run smoothly.

In the instance where an employer

is unable to handle day to day tasks, this

type of coverage may play a large role in

keeping the company afloat.

Employer-Supplied Insurance is

when the employer pays a part of the

money into the worker's disability fund.

Most commonly this is known as

Worker's Compensation which is paid

out to the employee who was working

and got injured on the job. However,

most people end up getting hurt off the

job, in which case worker's comp will

not cover the disability. This form of

disability insurance will help your

employees when they are unable to

physically work. Offering adequate

insurance to employees also fosters a

loyal environment. In this day and age,

employees are apt to stick by an

employer who shows their willingness

to care for employees in a time of need.

So no matter what form of

insurance, even short term disability

insurance, you can be assured that

your employees will be taken care of.

You can even make sure your company

is insured if you are unable to work.

After all, a company does not stop just

because of an injury or illness. By

getting the right type of insurance for

your company, you will not have to

to worry about spending too much

money and not having the proper

coverage when it comes time to use it.

benefits you may be eligible to receive even

though you are not physically able to go to

work.