Many people do not purchase disability insurance. Disability insurance is a type of insurance policy that would provide you with income if you become sick or injured and you cannot work either temporarily or permanently. If you do not have disability insurance and you become unable to work, your only option may be to apply for Social Security Disability (SSD) income.
Unfortunately, SSD benefits can be hard to qualify for, and it is often necessary to seek assistance with your application from a Boston disability lawyer. The SSA has a strict definition of disabled and those with short-term conditions are out-of-luck when it comes to getting disability income. For all of these reasons, it is important that you have your own private disability insurance policy so you will be taken care of in the event that a tragedy occurs and you are no longer able to work.
How Much Disability Insurance to Buy
If you don’t have disability insurance, you are not alone. Recently, CBS reported that the majority of NFL players do not buy a disability policy. The job of the average football player is a lot more dangerous than most people’s career choice, yet only 40 percent of NFL players have coverage in case they get hurt. A big part of the problem is that it is very expensive for NFL players to get coverage (as much as $20,000 to $40,000) and some rookie players especially do not want to come up with the cash.
Fortunately, for the average person, disability insurance can be purchased much more affordably. The peace-of-mind that come with knowing you are covered in case something happens to you is priceless. You do want to ensure you have purchase a large enough policy though. The Motley Fool can help. The Motley Fool published a recent article on how to determine how much money you need in case you cannot work.
To determine how much disability income you require:
- Start with figuring out what your current budget is and how much you are spending now.
- Determine how much you could save on your monthly budget if you were no longer working because you are disabled. Factor in work clothing; commuting expenses; lunch food costs; discontinued activities you may no longer do if you are hurt or sick; and whether you can or will downsize to a smaller home.
- Add up income form other sources that will continue even if you stop working, like income from savings or from your spouse.
- Take your current monthly budget and subtract the projected savings. This will let you know how much income you need to have coming in each month.
- Subtract the income you get from other sources. This will tell you exactly how much additional money you will need if you cannot work.
Once you have done these calculations, you will know how much money you need to bring in from your monthly disability income policy if you cannot work. If there are two working spouses in your family, disability income should be purchased for both spouses.
Call our Boston SSDI attorneys for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.
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Expedited Process for Veterans and Benefits for PTSD, April 17, 2014, Boston Social Security Disability Insurance Attorney Blog