Why Short-Term Dis­abil­i­ty Insur­ance is Impor­tant for You 

With inflation rising and many people living paycheck-to-paycheck, it seems like it’s harder than ever to maintain your financial stability. What would happen if you were disabled? Short-term disability insurance is there to ensure you’re able to keep your finances on track in the event of a sudden disability. But what is it, and why is it so important to have?

After reading this article you’ll understand:

• What is Short-Term Disability Insurance?
• How does Short-Term Disability Insurance work?
• Why choose Short-Term Disability Insurance?
• Where can I get Short-Term Disability Insurance?

What is Short-Term Disability Insurance

Short-term disability insurance is exactly what it sounds like – an insurance product designed to help you protect your income in case you’re unable to work. It’s short-term disability income insurance that we designed to protect your ability to make a living.

Why is this so important? Take a moment to think about the most meaningful things in your life – your home, your family, your car, your goals. They all depend on your income in some way. Consider what would happen if you couldn’t work. How long would your savings last? Would you be able to keep up with living expenses for a month? Two months? Three? If you’re like most people, your savings could only go so far.

Now imagine you were disabled by an injury or illness and needed to add medical expenses into the picture. How long would your savings last in that scenario? That’s where short-term disability insurance comes in, and why it’s more important today than ever before.

With short-term disability insurance, your coverage begins after your paycheck runs out. If you’re disabled and unable to do your job, it will pay you an amount of money, or benefit, every week for the duration of your policy or until you can work again. It’s that easy.

How Does Short-Term Disability Insurance Work?

Short-term disability insurance is simple and highly customizable, making it easy for you to create coverage that fits your needs and circumstances.

You’ll begin by selecting what kind of coverage you want. Assurity’s short-term disability product, Income Protection, has options for two types of coverage – Accident & Sickness and Accident-Only. Accident & Sickness coverage will pay you for disabilities caused by either accidents or sickness, exactly like the name says. Likewise, Accident-Only coverage will pay you for disabilities caused by an accident. You can pick the one that best suits your own concerns, risks or budget – Accident-Only coverage is generally more affordable than Accident & Sickness coverage.

Expenses quickly pile up after a disability. That’s why short-term disability insurance starts paying you soon after you’re disabled. You’ll choose how long you want to wait before you begin receiving benefits – this is called an elimination period. It can be as short as 0 days, or as long as 90 days. A longer elimination period can reduce the price of coverage, but also means you need to go longer before you receive benefits. It’s a smart move to balance how much you’d like to pay for coverage with how long you could go without income and find an elimination period that’s right for you.

You’ll also select a benefit period when applying for coverage. This is the length of time you’ll receive weekly benefit payments. It can be as short as a few months or as long as two years – the choice is yours. If you want coverage for a longer amount of time, you may want to consider long-term disability income insurance.

Once you’ve created your ideal coverage and been approved, it’s there to protect you so long as you continue paying premiums. With Assurity’s Income Protection, if you’re disabled all you can file a claim online via the MyAssurity customer portal. Then, once the elimination period has run out, you’ll receive payments directly to you every single week. What counts as a disability? Any injury or illness (depending on the type of coverage you select) that prevents you from doing your job.

You can use the money for whatever you need – use it to pay your rent or mortgage, for medical treatments, childcare, bills, or anything else. You’ll continue to receive weekly payments until the end of your selected benefit period or until you’re well, whichever comes first.

Why Short-Term Disability Insurance?

There are all sorts of different short-term disability insurance products out there, and we encourage you to do your research and decide which is best for you. Assurity’s Income Protection features hard-to-find options and deep customization that make it a great choice for many people.

By giving you the freedom to choose what you want and ignore what you don’t, you can create affordable protection that fits perfectly into your life. But selecting elimination and coverage periods is only half of the picture – there are also an array of optional riders to expand your coverage and protect what’s most important to you.

Accident & Sickness coverage comes with built-in benefits for both childbirth and organ donation. The Childbirth Benefit pays you a benefit if you give birth – no strings attached. The Organ Donation benefit pays you a benefit if you suffer any complications donating an organ or bone marrow. There’s no additional cost to either of these benefits, they’re included to give you the best possible protection.

You can expand coverage further with a wide range of rider options, available for an additional cost. For instance, the Family Care Rider will pay you a weekly benefit if you have to take time away from work to care for a sick or injured loved one. If your spouse is a stay-at-home parent, you can extend coverage to them with the Stay-At-Home Spouse Disability Income Rider. The work they do is important, and this rider pays a benefit if they’re disabled and can’t care for the family.

Another popular option is the Return of Premium Rider – if you never use your disability coverage, you’ll get back a portion of the money you paid for your base coverage at the end of your coverage period.

Where Can I Get Short-Term Disability Insurance?

Almost everyone has a reason to protect their income. If you’re ready to take that step, it’s easy to do. Your local insurance professional can help you evaluate your options and come up with the plan that’s best for you – and Assurity’s Income Protection is a great place to start.

NOT AVAILABLE IN NEW YORK

Assurity reserves the right to order, at the company’s expense, evidence of insurability which the company feels is necessary for the prudent evaluation of the risk on any application. This policy may contain reductions of benefits, limitations and exclusions. Product availability, features, rates, limitations and exclusions may vary by state. For costs and complete details of the coverage, please contact your insurance representative or Assurity to review the policy for more information.

Policy Form No. I H2016 and Rider Form Nos. R I2019, R I2020, R I2022, R I 2023, R I2024 and R I2025 are underwritten by Assurity Life Insurance Company, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Assurity is a marketing name for the mutual holding company Assurity Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Those subsidiaries include but are not limited to: Assurity Life Insurance Company and Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York. Insurance products and services are offered by Assurity Life Insurance Company in all states except New York. In New York, insurance products and services are offered by Assurity Life Insurance Company of New York, Albany, NY.