Disability income insurance (DI) can help replace income if your client becomes too sick or hurt to work. It provides a buffer against the unexpected. Your clients may have group DI coverage through their employer, which is a great start. However, it could leave gaps in their coverage and is dependent on where they work. So it’s important to help clients identify where the pitfalls are in their current policies. Clients may also not be interested in DI because they believe it may be too expensive or they don’t understand the coverage. They also may be unsure of what the definition of a disability actually is.

It’s worth exploring the possibility of supplementing group coverage with an individual disability income insurance (IDI) policy. And if they don’t have any DI, an IDI policy can help protect their income. They can also investigate these options by using a DI calculator, which will help them to determine the cost of individual coverage, build their own policy and see how much coverage they might purchase. Should disability strike, DI provides income that can be used to keep their household running as well as to help them adjust to their changed circumstances.

But before someone goes shopping for an IDI policy, they need to know what features to look for to get income protection your client can count on:

How disability is defined

The definition of total disability outlines what constitutes being totally disabled.

• If a policy defines total disability as inability to return to work in any occupation, then it would typically pay benefits only if your client was unable to perform any job, either his or her own or a job in a new field or occupation.

• If the policy defines total disability as an inability to work in your client’s own occupation, it typically pays benefits if he or she cannot perform the duties of the occupation in which he or she was engaged prior to becoming ill or injured.

Coverage for a partial disability and/or recovery

A policy's partial disability benefit provides protection in the event of partial disability or during a recovery period.

• Typically payable in an amount that is proportionate to the loss of income suffered due to sickness or injury.

• Supports your client’s financial recovery while he or she recovers physically.

• Not available with most group plans.

Flexibility to tailor coverage to your client’s specific needs

Both now and in the future, options (also called "riders") such as these let your clients:

• Increase coverage as their income grows with no medical insurability requirement.³

• Adjust benefits to help keep pace with the cost of living.

• Safeguard retirement contributions.

• Continue student loan payments.

Portability

Most professionals expect to change jobs or employers multiple times during the course of their career.

• Your clients can take individual DI coverage with them when they change jobs.
• Group long-term disability (Group LTD) plans typically are not portable.

Cancellability

To avoid the possibility of losing coverage just when they need it most, guide your clients to select a policy that's both non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable to age 65—with premiums also guaranteed until age 65.

• With group or association group coverage, your clients run the risk of being dropped and left unprotected at a time in life when, due to age or to a change in health, it would be very difficult to qualify for coverage from another provider.

Timing

Remember, the cost of individual disability income protection is age-based, so your clients can lock in a lower rate by buying when they are young and in good health.

Your clients have made a significant investment of time and money to build their careers with the promise of financial security and the other rewards a successful profession provides. But should they become too ill or injured to work, that promise evaporates. As their financial representative, you play a critical role in ensuring that their greatest asset is properly protected.