The Value of a Residual Disability Rider


Not all disabilities manifest themselves equally.  There are tens of thousands of known human diseases and countless ways the relatively-fragile human body can be injured.  And although modern medicine has remarkably progressed over the last century, the number of disabled Americans has steadily increased over time.  The disabled community is now the single largest minority group in the United States.  Over 20% of Americans live with some form of disablement, and many of them are unable to earn a continuous lifestyle-sustaining paycheck.

For decades, Petersen International Underwriters has been an advocate, proclaiming the outstanding virtues of personal disability income insurance and the fundamental need for total and residual disability coverage.

As a full-service underwriting facility, Petersen International has come to witness and appreciate the reality that most insured employed persons strive to continue working and rehabbing after suffering a complete or partial disability due to an accident or sickness.  No matter age, occupation, gender or ethnicity, underwriters have found that most clients strive to continue to be successful contributors to their families’ livelihoods even in the face of debilitation.  This observation has given underwriters courage and confidence in the disability insurance market over the years, instilling a belief that typical claimants desire to get back to work full time after periods of disablement, hence the importance of residual disability coverage.

Residual disability is often defined as an insured person sustaining a loss of earnings solely due to sickness or injury, yet remaining gainfully employed and not totally disabled.  Residual disability coverage provides monthly benefits that coordinate with a claimant’s loss of earnings in an attempt to make the income of that claimant as whole as possible.  The goal of the residual disability rider is to provide a supplemental income to a disabled person who is still working, but not able to work full time or not able to perform all of the substantial and material duties of the occupation.  The policy rider allows a person who is not deemed totally disabled the ability to transition back into the workforce with the freedom of time for proper rehabilitation and, if necessary, gradual reacquisition of occupational skill.

The Residual Disability Benefit Rider is an integral component of Petersen International’s personal disability product line as well as disability business overhead expense coverage.  Disablement is not black and white, and disabled persons are affected in varying degrees.  Residual disability insurance can provide a more comprehensive level of income protection for your valued clientele.