What To Look For In Disability Insurance?

You need disability insurance. You just never know when you’re going to get sick or hurt. Without insurance, you’re gambling with your life. Even if you work a job where you don’t have to be physical, you may get sick. So, you never know when something is going to go bad. To put your mind at ease, you need to obtain and maintain disability insurance. The only problem is that disability insurance is a complex subject making it difficult for Canadians to know what they need.

If you’re having trouble, you’ll want to read this guide. Blow, you’ll find out about the things you should think about when trying to sign up for disability insurance.

Group Or Individual?

When signing up for disability insurance, you can likely get it from your employer. In this type of situation, you would have an employer-sponsored group policy. Getting disability insurance from your employer is wise but that plan may come with certain limits. Group plans tend to limit your coverage. The insurance company has more control. Nevertheless, your employer is helping you pay for the insurance so you should take advantage of it.

Nevertheless, this policy may not be enough. Or, you might own a business and work as a self-employed Canadian. If so, you won’t have an employer and you won’t have access to a group plan. So, you’ll need to purchase an individual policy. Purchasing an individual policy is the best option but many Canadians feel they cannot afford it. When you buy an individual policy, you’re going to be protected more.

Just remember that you need to have short and long-term disability coverage. Furthermore, you have to understand that the premiums are going to vary depending on your age, health, and career. You’ll pay more with an individual plan but you’ll receive better benefits. It is essential to find a plan that works well for you.

Disability Definition

When it comes to disability insurance, you will find that the insurer provided is going to define disability. This information will be available in the contract and documents. If you’re looking for a policy, you have to be very careful to read the definition carefully. You need to make sure that you understand what it means to be disable according to your insurance policy. Before you can begin receiving benefits, you have to be disabled. What does disabled mean? That will depend on the definition of disabled in the paperwork.

Furthermore, you will find that there are two types of policies. You can buy an own occupation or any occupation disability policy. Any occupation means that you are unable to work any occupation. It will be more difficult to meet the obligations with this type of policy. For instance, you might not be able to work your current job but you can work a job behind a desk. If this is the case, you will not receive benefits from an any occupation disability policy.

Then, you have the own occupation policy. With this policy, you can work and receive benefits. However, it has to be determined that you’re no longer able to work your original job. You’re disabled because you can no longer complete those duties. You can work a less physical job while getting benefits.

Transferable?

You never know what is going to happen in the future. Although you work with the same employer for a few years, you may decide to look for another job. If this is the case, you may lose your insurance when switching jobs. If you receive insurance from an employer, you’ll want to ask about this. Can the insurance be transferred to a new employer? In many cases, a group insurance disability policy your employer cannot be transferred.

This won’t be a problem if you’ve acquired an individual plan. Since you’re paying for the plan, you’ll be able to take it with you. The plan is yours and you should be able to easily take it with you.

Premium Costs

To take advantage of a disability insurance policy, you’ll have to pay. You’re not going to get insurance for free. With an employer-sponsored plan, the employer will pay most or all of the premium. This means that you can obtain insurance without paying for anything. This isn’t the case with an individual plan. If you buy an individual plan, you’ll have to pay the entire premium.

When you begin searching for insurance plans, you should know that the premium is going to vary widely. It’ll depend on your age, health, location, and job. While you may not want to overspend, paying more is wise. Doing so will ensure that you receive a better policy with more coverage. Also, you should look for a non-cancelable plan.

This is very important since it’ll prevent the employer from canceling your plan as long as you’re paying for it. This also stops the company from increasing the premium.

Cost Of Living Coverage

Understanding what is covered by your insurance policy is very important. Most policies are not going to offer cost of living benefits. You’ll want to consider adding this feature to your policy. Cost of living benefits can help you obtain financial stability by offering increasing benefits. If you choose to add cost of living benefits to your policy, it is a good idea to make sure that the benefit will increase on a compounding basis.

This is a good way to deal with inflation while you’re disabled.

Residual

You’ll also want to make sure that your disability insurance comes with residual benefits. There is a chance that you’ll be able to work partly. For instance, you might be able to return to work but your hours might be slashed. With residual benefits, you’ll receive benefits while working partly. This will help you make up for the lost income. Without this feature, you will lose out without any compensation.

Collection Period

Canadian workers need to understand that they’re not going to receive benefits as soon as they’ve filed a claim. There will be a waiting period. This is often referred to as the collection time. With good policies, you’ll be able to start receiving benefits in 30 days after you’ve filed the claim. Depending on the policy you have, the collection time could range from 30 days to 700 days. For the best results, you’ll want a shorter collection period.

Changes In Coverage

When you find a disability insurance policy that you like, you’ll want to keep it. You do not want the policy to change randomly. This can be a problem with some insurance policies. The company will retain the freedom to change the policy whenever they want. The insurance policy may be able to change the terms and stop you from renewing it. You have to know hen the company is going to change the policy and what they’re going to change.

Future Increase Option

Again, the future is unknown. While you may experience difficult times, you might not. You may receive a promotion and your wages could increase. If you want to make up for those future wage increases, you need a policy with the future increase feature. With this feature, you’ll have the option of increasing the monthly benefit of the policy. If this feature isn’t available, you cannot increase the benefit.

The only problem is that a lot of companies are going to limit the supplementary coverage that can be added to your policy each year. Try to find out more about this before signing up.

Provision For Renewability

Finally, you should do your best to keep a good disability insurance policy for as long as possible. You’ll want to make sure that the company cannot cancel your policy. This is why you’ll want to look at the renewability provision of your policy. Depending on the provision, you may be able to prevent the insurance company from canceling your coverage even if you take a riskier job. The only downside is that the company might be able to change your premium even if you have a plan with a guaranteed renewable policy.

You can prevent this from happening by taking advantage of a non-cancelable policy. With this feature, the company will not be able to increase the price. There are numerous things to consider when looking for a disability insurance policy. It is pertinent to be very cautious. Make sure that you choose a high-quality insurance provider and a great policy. Working with ProfessionalsCoverage is a good way to get assistance finding what you need.

Connect with an Expert Advisor. Liability Insurance Coverages from $150/Year - Call us Today! 1.888.480.7677