Disability Income Insurance

What is disability insurance?
Disability insurance, often called disability income insurance, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that disability will make working (and therefore earning) impossible. In other words, it answers the question, "How would I pay for my living expenses if I became unable to work?"

Example:
If you become disabled to do your occupation or an alternative occupation, then you are unable to earn an income. When you are unable to earn an income then you won’t be able to afford your lifestyle expenses.

Thus you might loose those things most valuable to you like your home, car, and savings as well as paying off your debt’s, and your family and dependants will have to work to support you and you will then become dependent on them.

If you are the main bread winner and have a bigger income then your spouse, it will be impossible to keep your heads above the water should you become disabled.

Why disability insurance
Depending on the duties of your occupation you might not be able to continue working as you did before. To protect yourself and those dependent on you, from a loss of income and to maintain your lifestyle as it was before. You can only get disability cover till the age of 65 or 75. You must insure your self against Occupational disability, Functional disability, Physical impairment.

How much is enough disability insurance?
Depending on your current occupation and life style you will need a capital amount set aside for emergency’s, we call this 27/7 money available at any time when needed; and an income amount to provide you with an monthly income of at least 75% of you’re your highest paid salary. The yearly income must also increase according or above inflation so that you will not run short on your buying power over your disabled years.

A good way to do this is to invest the claims money into an income product that will give you enough capital growth to draw an income from for the amount of years until; your retirement or pension savings provide an income for the rest of your life span.

Disability events:
The following listed events can cause a permanent disability and some of them are on top of the life assurance companies claim list.

The loss of any two or combination of both, Fingers, Hands, Arms, Legs, Feet, Hearing, eyes, sight, speech, upper body or lower body function.

Affordable disability insurance:
Finding affordable disability cover can be very hard, it all depends on what you want insured. To determine what premium you will pay depends on how much cover you need, your gender, age, occupation, current health status, personal risk profile, what the waiting period on the claim will be and for how long you want the cover for. You can only insure yourself against disability while you are in your working years and some benefits insure you for life.

Insurance companies under write different from others, they have their own rates on disability cover.

Also know that where you have an existing injury, the company will load your premium or totally exclude that injured part of your body.