Disability Income Insurance

For many, keeping a paycheck is a top priority. We depend on our paychecks to fund all of the everyday things in our lives — our cars, our homes, our savings for retirement. A sudden loss or interruption of one’s income stream due to a disability could create serious financial problems, especially without sufficient assets on hand to help cover the shortfall. Without an income stream, individuals may be unable to pay for these basic expenses, including other types of insurance. In addition to coping with a new disabling injury or condition, these everyday living expenses will still need to be paid — even as income and retirement funding both stop.

And, while the general wisdom of establishing an emergency cash fund of at least six to 12 months income is still valid, not many Americans are able to set aside anywhere near this amount. In fact, a 2006 AC Nielsen Online Consumer Confidence Study revealed that “[n]early one-quarter (22%) of U.S. respondents said that once they have covered their basic living expenses, they have no money left over.”1 However, by 2009 that number had jumped significantly — now “50% of working Americans couldn’t make it a month before financial difficulties set in, and more than one in four would have problems immediately,” according to a LIFE Foundation survey

A question for your clients:  “If you were in a car accident tomorrow and couldn’t go to work for 6 months to a year, would that affect your ability to pay your mortgage?”