"Two years ago, I think many people felt it was the wrong time to get pregnant; they worried they might not have a job when they came back from leave. But today they are feeling much more confident.

"And secondly, there is a cloud of uncertainty regarding health care coverage, how (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) will affect coverage and some people might have been thinking that it's better to have a baby now, while they know they have coverage and can handle existing out-of-pocket costs associated with labor and delivery."

Of the 154,000 new disability claimants CDA members approved in 2012, more than half (54 percent) were women, a percentage Lundquist said has slowly increased over time compared with the percentage of male claimants.

"Women are more likely to file disability claims than death claims," he said. "It's just the nature of men and women."

Disability benefits typically depend on whether the woman is able to do her job and other factors. 

The CDA report, now in its eighth year, includes information from 19 CDA member companies, representing more than 75 percent of the individual and group commercial disability insurance market.

Overall, the report revealed that claims were down, but the cost of the average claim rose. By a wide margin, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue — such as arthritis, spine disorders, back pain, sciatica and osteoporosis — continue to be the leading cause of disability claims (representing 30.7 percent of all 2012 claims).

Lundquist advised employers and employees to take time to educate and learn what disability coverage the company provides and what that means for the individual employee. Health care costs in general continue to increase, so it's possible employees might want to consider additional disability coverage.

"I encourage everyone to engage in some advanced planning so at the very least you don't have surprises if someone unfortunately finds themselves disabled at some point in their working lives," Lundquist said.