Who Benefits from Disability Insurance?

I am one of those who argues that disability insurance is the most important type of insurance for those who are earning an income.Think about it. Insurance is meant to protect your assets from losing value or at least replacing them when bad things happen. To me the most important asset that anyone can have is the ability to earn a living. The reason why most people who are homeless are depressed is not because they are poor, but because they can no longer earn a living.

If you were placed in a situation where you can no longer earn a living, you might end up feeling useless and worthless. Disability insurance protects your ability to earn an income. It replaces part of your income if you are unable to work for an extended period of time due to an injury or illness. I have seen some people go through hell as they try to figure out what they did wrong in their lives after being unable to pay their bills due to long term disability.

We shall be discussing how disability insurance works at a later post but if you are one of the following, you should consider getting disability insurance:

1. Small Business Owners and Self Employed – Nothing makes sense for small business people. It is like small business owners drew poor odds in that they are more likely to get sick than those who work for them. Without a big company payroll to boost their incomes during bad times, they are likely to use their hard saved business earnings to pay off their bills.
2. Family Bread Winners – Many families have gone through tough times whenever the main sole bread winner gets sick or is disabled. It is even tougher for the person who is sick as they feel that they can no longer provide for their families.
3. High Income Individuals – If you are used to a certain level of living and you have to change due to something going wrong, the shock can be devastating. If you look at your company group insurance policy, you will probably find that it will not be able to maintain your living standards in case of something going wrong. It would be prudent to get disability insurance

If you are in a situation where you depend on your income then it is very important to include disability insurance in your monthly budget. Your income is what allows you to buy the car and house which you have insured. Why not insure yourself first?