A Tiered Approach to Income Protection

Disability insurance is the greatest resource our clients have in protecting personal income against the threat of debilitating illnesses and injuries.  A relatively small, but loyal collection of American insurers offers a wide range of income protection products featuring unique attributes and benefit terms, depending on a client’s financial planning needs and current market outlook.

You are likely to find that most Americans making up today’s work force are insufficiently, if at all, covered by some form of income protection insurance.  Many employers provide small layers of mandatory or voluntary guaranteed-issue group disability benefits.  Since the carriers of such plans offer terms on a guaranteed basis, underwriter guidelines will commonly limit benefits to 60% of income with caps of $5,000 to $15,000 per month depending on the insured’s income level and employer generosity.  For the majority of blue-collar, grey-collar and governmental employees, employer-sponsored group disability insurance provides acceptable income replacement coverage.  However, many people living in the U.S. work for small business owners or are self-employed or independent contractors.  In these instances, group disability insurance is frequently not available.