Poll: do you carry disability insurance?

[shaynaatl]

I've been looking to shore up our life insurance policies, and I keep reading articles saying that disability insurance is also important. Do you carry it?

[Susie]

I took out a long term disability policy a handful of years ago, when I was big into triathlon.  From a purely financial standpoint, the worst case scenario isn't dying in a bike accident.  It's being severely disabled in an accident, leaving me unable to work, incurring large expenses, and life insurance being unavailable for my kids.

That's true regardless of how you spend your time, but it felt more immediate when I was logging lots of miles on a road bike each week.

[sadlebred]

It's critical. As a single income, if I'm injured, sick, or unable to work I need to have replacement income. I have it through my employer.

[winemaker06]

Yep, we got long-term disability policies in our late 20s to hold through 60ish. The thought at the time was that having to deal with whatever medical crap that comes with a disability plus taking care of our family would be bad enough, might as well have a decent portion of income coming in to reduce one source of stress. And not having it ALL tied to our employer means it won’t get dropped when we change jobs and wouldn’t all be taxable when paid out.

[lessel]

I have it through my employer, although it could be better. Recently tried to get both life and disability policies outside of work coverage, but was denied because of 'recent weight loss' (I had weight loss surgery last year). Soooo, going to try again maybe next year?

[wildrice]

I said no, but actually I think I might through my employer? I think they pay for it 100%. Though I also could be mistaken and thinking of another kind (they do pay for something other than life).

We probably should have it for both of us.

[W.T.Faulkner]

Yep, both short-term and long-term.

[niq]

We get short-term disability through work.

Our term life insurance policies have some sort of LTD rider. I haven't looked into the specifics since I bought the policy several years ago. I think there might be some concern if I had some sort of injury that made my current job difficult or impossible, but I could still hold *some* job.

[ohgillian]

Ooof, I clicked "SS" because I don't actually know! I know we don't have it outside of work. Do we have it through work? Maybe??

[clairebear]

I do not. However, I am self-employed and getting it is pretty expensive. I am also in a dual-income marriage and H's income could cover all household income if need be. It's a risk, but a calculated one in that we could be fine if I was not working.

[plutosmoon]

I carry short and long term through my employer. I'm a single mom, so it's very important for me to have a generous policy.

My employer provides STD at 100% pay for up to 26 weeks at no cost to me. My employer also provides LTD for 60% pay at no cost to me. I pay for a supplement that brings me to 70%, which I think costs around $200 a year. This policy would pay out until full social security retirement age. My employer provided health insurance is continued at the group rates as well if I ever end up on LTD.

[mainelyfoolish]

I don’t have any on myself because I couldn’t get any when I was a SAHM and now that I work part-time, my income is something we could live without.

My DH is a Federal employee so he doesn’t have disability insurance per se, but for short term he has saved up a lot of sick leave and for long term, he would qualify for disability retirement.

[AdaraMarie]

I have some through my work (employer paid) but I think only short term and I know it won't replace my full salary. I tried to get an additional supplemental disability policy through my work benefits (employee paid) but my application was rejected for a stupid reason.
I haven't looked into it since then, but I should.

[idahome]

My work provides LTD that pays 60% of monthly base salary. Starts paying after 180 days illness/injury but pays up to normal Social Security Retirement Age.

Employees have the option to purchase STD that pays 60% weekly income for up to 26 weeks. I’ll also have banked sick days the longer I stay there.

I am married and my husband works but his pay would cover his car payment and part of our mortgage so my having disability coverage is critical.

I am also looking to add long term care insurance to our employee benefits (I’m the Benefits Manager at my work).

[mich1]

My work paid for a LTD policy and I bought a supplemental policy too. I never had a STD policy as I tried to self insure for this. My job had a generous sick and vacation policy and when I went out for my medical nightmare, I had over 500 hours of sick time accrued and 6 weeks of vacation.

Just a word of advice, look into what your COBRA will cost you if you go out disabled. Losing your medical insurance when you are needing it most is a nightmare. I was very lucky in that I was approved for SSDI, my employer paid and my disability PLUS my employer continued to pay the bulk of my medical insurance premium until I became eligible for Medicare. For those 2 years, my premium was what I would pay if I was still employed.

[coltsfan85]

Adding onto what previous posts said, my husbands disability insurance paid for our lawyer to help him navigate SSDI too. It was absolutely worth the few bucks he paid per month before his disability.

[Deleted]

I have STD through my employer. I tried to add on LTD and they denied me because I have no thyroid.

[scout8]

I'm self employed. Many years ago I tried to get LTD and I couldn't get it due to a pre-existing condition.

[jlt19]

I have both STD and LTD through my work, and have been advised to pay the additional amount (from our financial advisor) for the higher coverage of LTD. I don’t remember the numbers though.

We talked about DH and him not having an option via work, but our FA didn’t feel like the benefits were worth the cost. I’m guessing that’s probably due to his age/health/being a smoker.

[vmars]

Yes, I have a policy to help bridge the gap of what my regular salary is vs what I actually get through my disability insurance at work. It was recommended by our financial advisor.

[winecat]

Jul 27, 2022 20:24:17 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

It's critical. As a single income, if I'm injured, sick, or unable to work I need to have replacement income. I have it through my employer.

No. But I wish I did for this reason. 20/20 hindsight and all that. ugh.

[macmars45]

I do not. I'm guessing they will deny me based on my two life long disabilities. Getting life insurance has been an almost 4 month process so far (they haven't officially approved me). I'm not hopeful. It's all such bullshit (that I'm not eligible for reasons I have no control over and didn't cause).

[expectantsteelerfan]

We do for my dh, but not for me because I'm mostly a SAHM and my income is mostly insignificant to our budget.