Disability insurance

Get disability insurance for yourself

Help protect the lifestyle that you've built through a long-term disability plan, whether you're self-employed or looking to supplement coverage from work.

Get disability insurance for employees

Help protect the financial wellness of employees with short-term, long-term, and paid family leave coverages that can be managed in lockstep with other leave requirements.

Disability insurance basics

Who is disability insurance for?

Whether you're self-employed or working for a large employer, if you depend on your income to provide for your lifestyle, then you should probably consider disability insurance. It helps ensure that you can continue to receive partial income if you become too sick or injured to work.

What does disability insurance do?

Policies typically pay a percentage of your income if you have a serious illness or injury that prevents you from working. Short-term plans cover you immediately after an incident, while a long-term policy can pay for many years — even through retirement age — if your disability lasts for an extended period.

How do you get disability insurance?

Some employers offer short- and long-term group disability plans to their employees. You can also purchase supplemental disability insurance for added income protection. Or, if you don’t have coverage through work, you can get an individual disability policy.

A history of protecting

Guardian has been helping families protect their financial well-being for over 160 years. With high scores for financial soundness from independent rating agencies,* our 12 million customers can trust us to be there when they need us most.²

Why every working adult may want to consider disability insurance

What would happen if you were suddenly unable to work and earn an income? Accidents and injuries happen, and we can’t always anticipate if or when we’ll be diagnosed with a serious illness or medical condition. A disability policy can help protect you and your family by providing income to help pay your bills if you can’t collect your normal paycheck.

Disabilities are often more common than you may think

While the term “disability” is sometimes applied to catastrophic conditions, such as paralysis from a car accident or a debilitating stroke, it covers far more conditions than you might think. Disabilities are more typically the result of less severe injuries, and people often need disability coverage for more common conditions such as pregnancy, back pain, depression, and digestive disorders.

Being disabled doesn’t mean unable

Meet Dr. Feranmi Okanlami. After suffering an unexpected accident, his disability insurance helped him continue to pursue his dream, while also opening up new avenues for him to find success. Watch his story to find out more.

Around 5% of working Americans a year will experience a short-term disability leave due to a pregnancy, injury, or illness.³ The truth is that people of all ages, demographics, and professions have roughly the same potential to experience an income-disrupting injury or illness. More than 25% of today’s 20-year-olds can expect to become disabled and be out of work for at least a year during their career.⁴

Other things to know about getting disability insurance

How much disability insurance do I need?

First, look at your income needs to help determine what your monthly benefit payout should be. If you have disability insurance through your job, see if it’s enough. Workplace short-term disability plans generally reimburse around 40% to 60% of your pre-disability salary — but the benefit may be taxable if the employer pays premiums. Find out how premiums are paid and if needed, account for taxes to see what your net benefit would be. A supplemental individual disability income insurance (Group IDI) plan obtained through work can complement the coverage you receive through work. Or, if you don’t have workplace coverage, consider getting an individual disability plan for the amount you need. These plans are usually paid with after-tax dollars, so the benefit is typically not taxed.

Pay attention to the definition of disability

Every insurance carrier has a specific definition of disability that you must meet to receive benefits. And generally speaking, these definitions fall into two main categories:

• Own occupation: a person is considered disabled if they are no longer able to perform their own occupation as performed in the national economy.

• Any occupation: a person is considered disabled if they are unable to perform any occupation for which the person is suited by education, training, or experience.

The distinction can be critical, especially for highly paid professionals receiving disability benefits. An "own occupation” definition will be important for these professionals to protect the occupation they have achieved, versus the "any occupation” definition, which will use a broader set of occupations to determine continued disability.

Disability insurance cost

Coverage you get through your employer will generally cost less, whereas with an individual policy you pay the full premium cost, but coverage stays with you if you change jobs. Expect to pay about 2% of your income for a solid long-term disability policy, but several factors will impact the cost:

• Age As with life insurance, younger applicants almost always pay lower premiums.
• Health History Pre-existing conditions and family health history issues will raise cost.
• Benefit amount The higher the benefit amount, the greater the cost.
• Benefit period A policy that pays through retirement age will cost more than coverage for fewer years.
• Elemination period This is the time after becoming disabled until you start to receive payment; a longer elimination period can help lower premiums.

Thinking about individual disability income insurance? Connect with a financial professional.

A long-term individual disability policy can be a powerful tool to help ensure your financial well-being. But to do so it should be tailored to your individual needs. So, it's a good idea to work with a financial professional who will learn about your situation and concerns and provide in-depth information about your options. If you have someone you trust, talk to them about your disability needs. Otherwise, Guardian can connect you with a financial professional who will listen to your needs, tell you about the best ways to meet those needs within your budget, then help you decide.