The next holiday on our calendar is that of Thanksgiving and, as we all know, following Thanksgiving, the holidays roll in rather quickly after that. Before we know it, the New Year will be upon us and we can start off “fresh” as so many of us love to do. The truth is that we enjoy the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and get down to once again facing those priorities that somehow seem to allude us as the months pass by on the calendar.
One of the things that we should all be looking at as the New Year approaches and as the opportunity presents itself to start fresh for the months ahead, is our disability insurance. For some, this may be looking at the current disability insurance policy they have in place and making adjustments according to their current lifestyle. For others, this may mean looking at disability insurance plans for the first as they may have been putting off the process of putting such in insurance in place up until this point.
Disability insurance plans are expansive – from short term disability to long term disability and with a variety of provisions that can be chosen to fit the needs of policyholders in a variety of circumstances. But having at least some kind of disability insurance under your belt is by far better than having no disability insurance at all. If you were to become sick or injured and not be able to continue working how would you support your family and pay your bills – including your mortgage or rent?
So now is the time to check out disability insurance plans if you have not already done so. Get your ducks in a row in preparation for the New Year and have a plan in place to protect the interests of yourself and your family.
Popularity: 9% [?]
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There are some things that just require some professional input; after all, we can’t be expected to be well-versed in everything. We turn to accountants to help us decipher the tax code; we turn to realtors to help us navigate the real estate market; and for those insurance matters…we turn to the professionals that can help us make sense of the many options available to us.
Disability insurance is something that many of us do not give any thought to until we are in a position where we are responsible for a family – be it our spouse or children. This is around the time when we will undoubtedly explore the many options associated with life insurance; putting elements into place that will protect our family so that a sudden and unexpected death doesn’t mean financial devastation. Additionally, this is around the time when options for disability insurance are explored as well. Disability insurance is also important in protecting the financial interests of families should an earner in the household be confronted with an illness or injury and be unable to work.
Make no mistake that disability insurance is important for families on many different levels. It is crucial for those families with children as they are often the most vulnerable in a situation where an income is lost. But disability insurance is just as important for couples and singles. For instance, those who live alone have no income to back them up if they suddenly find themselves in a position where they can’t work. Without disability insurance the prospects are alarming.
That being said, the many disability insurance plans on the market and the many choices included in them all can sometimes leave prospective policyholders unclear on which way to turn. Working with professional insurance carriers, however – those with a great reputation in the industry and a desire to answer all your questions – will put you on the right track to an appropriate disability insurance policy.
Popularity: 15% [?]
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In the last post we started to talk about how divorce can put many, many things on our plates. There are, of course, the emotional ramifications of a marriage ending. But there are also the more “administrative” concerns when a marriage ends. When you share money and property with someone there is of course the process that must be gone through in order to separate ownership.
In the last post I began to talk about my divorce and how the ending of my marriage brought with it things that I had never considered. Sure we had to deal with the ownership of our home, vehicles, and bank accounts, but I also had to consider those insurance policies that I had essentially taken for granted. We both had life insurance in place so the only thing I had to change on my life insurance policy was the beneficiary. But I did not have disability insurance – something that my ex-husband had in place so that if he was hurt or ill and unable to return to work we would be financially protected.
But now that I am on my own I had to consider disability insurance for myself. Who would protect me or my lifestyle if I suddenly found myself injured in an accident or ill for a long period of time? I needed to step up to the plate and begin exploring disability insurance plans so that I could have peace of mind that I would be protected – and my finances would be protected – no matter what.
Disability insurance turned out to be easier to find than I thought. I worked with a solid professional who was able to walk me through the many disability insurance plans to find something that worked for my situation, so that I could begin the process of getting back on my feet.
Popularity: 17% [?]
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No one expects to get married and then one day see the marriage end. What we expect is to commit ourselves to another person and have it remain that way throughout the entirety of our lives. Unfortunately, as the statistics clearly show, marriages end every day. And more than just the emotional ramifications that are associated with such situations is the logistical ramifications. The fact of the matter is that when you marry someone you are essentially tying your life to theirs and there are bank accounts that are shared, insurance that is taken out, houses and businesses that are in both names, and so forth.
So when a marriage ends all of these things must be considered. Things are separated including bank accounts, deeds to homes, and the like. And, consequently we need to examine those policies that we may have had together and reassess them in terms of having single policies. There’s a lot of paperwork and administrative concerns that must be addressed when it comes to divorce – over and above the emotional drama that always ensues. It’s a lot for anyone to have on their plate.
When I got divorced I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the number of things that I had to do when all I really wanted to do was go to bed. Things that I never gave much thought to – if ever – were suddenly needing attention, requiring me to make decisions. It was exhausting.
One of the things that I never even realized we had was disability insurance. Of course, now that I look at it closely it makes perfect sense that my ex-husband had a disability insurance policy in place. He was the larger earner in the household; if something happened to him we would be without his paycheck. While his life insurance policy covered us if he were to pass away, disability insurance covered us if a sickness or injury stopped him from earning a paycheck.
More in the next post about how I got through my divorce and put my own separate things in place including disability insurance.
Popularity: 15% [?]
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The current economic crunch in this country has escaped no one’s attention. Most of us are glued to our televisions and our newspapers so that we may learn the latest that is being done to rescue the nation from this downslide. In businesses across the country this news is not news at all; they have been feeling the ramifications of the economy for some time. And for individual households the impact has been just as significant as we look for ways to stretch our dollar as far as they will go.
Now is most certainly not the time to be conservative with the protective financial layer we put in place for ourselves. Retirement accounts should not be touched – as scary as the market may seem – because the penalties for early withdrawal are severe; life insurance should be kept current to protect our families; and disability insurance plans should be thoroughly explored so that a change in our circumstances does not threaten to financially destroy us.
Most of us are barely making it by with our paychecks these days. Could you imagine a scenario where you didn’t have a paycheck at all? When someone becomes sick or injured and their subsequent disability prohibits them from returning to work (in the short term or even permanently) the loss of a paycheck can be devastating for a household that counts on every penny for its survival. With disability insurance, however, earners are essentially protecting their paycheck by putting measures into place that will payout if their paycheck is suddenly and unexpectedly taken from them due to a disability.
It may seem counterintuitive to take more money out of your pocket in this current economic climate. But in reality it is makes the most sense to protect your family through disability insurance – now, more than ever.
Popularity: 19% [?]
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In the last post, we talked about how pregnancy and delivery – something that working women often take months off of work from as they bring their babies home and settle into a routine – can quickly become the unexpected when moms find themselves facing a longer than normal recovery.
Pregnancy and delivery should be the most natural thing in the world but the fact is that sometimes things go wrong. When women find themselves in a tough situation and facing more recovery than they anticipated, many things cross their minds. The paramount concern, of course, is the care for their newborn; as well as the care for other children in the home. Moms being out of the equation – even for the shortest period of time – can render a household out of commission.
Then there is, of course, the financial concern especially if the mother was planning on going back to work after the traditional six-eight week maternity leave but finds herself unable to do so. The loss of a paycheck can financially devastate a family under normal circumstances but if you add a new baby and a struggling economy to the equation, the plot thickens considerably.
With disability insurance in place, however, women who have just given birth can concentrate on their family and on their recovery without having financial concerns get in the way. Disability income insurance can make up for lost salaries and keep a family financially above water until such time that those who are disabled can return to work. And if they are unable to return to work in any capacity for the foreseeable future, long term disability insurance will be there for policyholders to depend upon.
Some companies offer disability insurance plans in which employees can take part. But privately purchased disability insurance often provides the most options in terms of amount of coverage, policy payout wait times, and length of coverage.
Popularity: 21% [?]
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Quite a few years ago when I first started my career, I was like anyone else just starting out – I was eager, hungry for work, and really poor. As most of us do at that age, I opted for as little benefits that I would have to pay out of pocket for as I tried to maximize the amount in my paycheck. However, as I got further on in my career I felt as though I was probably doing myself an injustice in terms of my future and I sat down with a financial planner to see what I should be doing with my money.
The financial planner quickly pointed out that while I was carrying health insurance, I had opted for the bare bones plan – something he thought I should reconsider, especially when I decided to have a family. Further, he noticed that I was not contributing to my 401k – something that he said was like throwing money out the window considering that my company matched funds for vested employees. Additionally, while I did have life insurance, he was concerned that I was not carrying disability insurance – especially since my company offered disability insurance plans from which to choose. He felt as though this was extremely risky considering how early on I was in my career. If I got hurt or sick, how would I be able to support myself until the age of retirement?
Needless to say, I left that meeting quite a bit shaken and committed to making some changes in my financial portfolio. I changed my health insurance policy, upped my life insurance, began contributed to my company’s 401k plan, and not only took advantage of one of the disability insurance plans available through my job, but also purchased a private disability insurance policy as a supplement.
As you’ll read in the next post, this decision wound up saving my family from financial ruin.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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Lately I have been trying to get a lot of my finances in order. Now that I am recently divorced – and the mother of three young children, ages twelve and under – I have had to look at things from a new perspective. After all, I don’t have another earner bringing home a paycheck anymore (and while I do receive child support, things have still changed considerably). Additionally, I am giving thought to things that I didn’t really consider too much previously. For instance, prior to the divorce I was a stay-at-home mother; my ex-husband, who was obviously bringing home the money on which we lived, had a life insurance policy and a disability insurance policy in order to protect us should something have happened to him. These were not things that I thought that I needed for myself since I was at home and not working.
Now that I am back to working full time, I have recently purchased myself a life insurance policy and even a disability insurance policy. After all, what would happen to me now if I suddenly became sick or injured and was unable to return to work? Certainly I know that my kids would be okay because their father is still very much in their life and is a devoted dad, but I know that I have to depend on myself to take care of ME – something that is very new for me indeed.
In learning how to protect myself and take care of myself I have had to do a lot of learning in a very short period of time. Luckily, when it came to seeking out disability insurance plans that were appropriate for my current life circumstances, I was led through the process by a professional company that answered all my questions and was really helpful through my decision making process. Now I know that with disability insurance and life insurance in place, myself –and my family – are protected.
Popularity: 22% [?]
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In the last post we discussed some of the reasons why disability insurance is so very important for anyone who wishes to protect their family and their finances in the event that they are hurt or become ill and are not able to return to work. For most American families the loss of a paycheck can be most devastating and, in fact, they would not survive for very long without it. Before long, savings accounts, investment accounts, and even the equity in a home may have to be accessed in order for a family without disability insurance to make ends meet.
However, with the creation of solid disability insurance plans, a family can feel secure that they are protected no matter what their circumstances. Should a household earner become ill or suffer an injury that causes them to be out of work for a period of time – or permanently – disability insurance will become engaged and policyholders will begin to receive payments so that they are able to keep afloat during an already difficult time.
Creating appropriate disability insurance plans, therefore, comes down to really examining your household expenses and what it takes for your home to manage on a monthly basis. It is important to take into account every expenditure you make month to month – from gas (and this is an expenditure that is currently on the rise) and food to mortgage payments and repayment of debt. It is important to understand what the loss of a paycheck would mean to the payment of these necessities and how else a family would survive without a disability insurance policy in place.
By examining all of these expenditures a would-be policy holder can choose the policy that works best for them in terms of payout versus affordability of premiums. An additional feature that must be chosen is how long the wait time is before the policy will pay out; if your family has savings that they can rely upon for a short period of time – without depleting the entire savings – then you can choose a longer wait time and therefore reduce your premiums. If, however, you have no backup financial options you may want to choose a disability insurance policy with the shortest wait time in policy payouts.
Popularity: 28% [?]
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Insurance is something that is simply a necessary part of life; a necessary part for those who want to ensure that their family and their finances are protected in the face of possible problems. Life insurance is purchased in order to ensure that families are protected in case of death and health insurance is purchased in order to ensure that our finances are protected when there is a need for medical care. When you consider how much medical care of any kind costs and how much of an impact it can have on our wallets, it becomes very clear how important health insurance is the grand scheme of things. After all, how many of us can afford to come out of pocket with the thousands and thousands of dollars associated with an average hospital stay?
Disability insurance is another necessity, especially if a family is completely reliant on an earner’s paycheck; and really, who isn’t in this day and age? In fact, most of us are living paycheck to paycheck in this struggling economy and it’s becoming more and more difficult to make any sort of headway. Those of us who are lucky enough to have built up some savings certainly don’t want to see that nest egg squandered in the face of a disability. But that is exactly what happens to those who do not have any disability insurance to protect their families. In such situations, an earner who is hurt or becomes ill and is not able to return to work will find that they have precious little to rely upon. Very quickly, savings accounts are diminished, investments are accessed, and even homes are sold – all in an effort to keep up with the day to day expenses that are faced by the average person in today’s society.
Examining comprehensive disability insurance plans, however, allows consumers to maximize the protection provided for their families, so that – no matter what the circumstances – family members will be okay.
In the next post, we’ll discuss some of the ways in which consumers can create solid disability insurance plans.
Popularity: 27% [?]
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