Disability Insurance Month
Disability Insurance for Every Working Client
May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month in the industry and that means that it’s a perfect time to talk about the benefits of discussing Disability Insurance with your clients. Whether working with individuals or businesses, Disability Insurance plays a vital role in protecting a working client’s income in the face of a medical downturn that results in lost wages. An otherwise sound financial portfolio can be devastated by unexpected disabilities. It is both prudent and compassionate to let your clients know what their options are in terms of safeguarding their income against sudden changes in their ability to work. Let’s look at the facts.
1 in 4 Working Adults Will Suffer a Disability During their Earning Years
According to data provided by the Social Security Agency, 1 in 4 working adults will experience lost wages for at least 90 days at some point during their earning years. That’s 41 million Americans out of 164 million in the workforce. These are tough odds. Some will be able to return to work, while others may be out for the long term.
Adding insult to injury, nearly 60% of all filed bankruptcies in the United States are at least partially due to debt from hospital and medical bills.
The lost wages associated with being unable to work for extended periods of time compounds both stress and resources on our clients. Short and long-term disability insurance provides relief when our clients need it most. While they don’t necessarily cover 100% of wages lost, they more than adequately protect the financial security of families as they work through difficult times.
The Market for Disability Insurance is Wide Open
Out of the 164 million Americans currently in the workforce, over 50 million do not have disability insurance of any kind. There are currently 5 states that require employers to purchase at least short-term disability insurance for their employees, but the number of businesses that provide disability insurance in the rest of the country has greatly decreased over the past 10 years.
Businesses began dialing back their disability options as the cost of health insurance increased. This has left more working Americans than ever before without disability policies in force.
This means that the market has tremendous potential for growth to complement it’s potential for sparing financial ruin for countless Americans.
When working with our clients, we are mindful of their financial goals and their family’s needs. We find outstanding life insurance policies to help them maintain their legacy. Disability insurance is an essential component of protecting their earnings and their family’s wellbeing. Like LTC policies, disability offers relief while our clients are still alive and the coverage can be life-changing.
Disability Insurance is Affordable
There are many misconceptions that people have regarding disability. For starters, many people think that it simply won’t happen to them even though the statistics are overwhelming. Others might think that social security disability benefits and workers’ compensation will cover them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Workers’ compensation is cause-specific and does not cover the majority of common disabilities. Social Security Disability Insurance covers a very small fraction of your income. Other people may feel that if they have both life insurance and health insurance policies, that they are adequately covered. Unfortunately, this is a common misunderstanding. In reality, neither protects the loss of their income in a disability.
The truth is that not only is disability insurance affordable, but the opposite is also true. Not having disability insurance can be incredibly expensive.
At between 2% and 3% of their monthly policy benefit, premiums for disability policies are relatively affordable. It is also good for your business. Commissions are excellent and the reasonable cost combined with an underserved market allows a fantastic opportunity to increase revenue while serving your client with integrity.
Trust Financial Is Here to Help
Trust Financial is here to support the growth of your business with tools, resources, and expertise to handle any questions you may have regarding the best options when it comes to offering your client disability coverage. We’d like to encourage you to take the time to share your thoughts about disability insurance with your working clients. Together, we can reduce the number of working Americans who aren’t insured and help safeguard their incomes in any eventuality.
