What Happens if You Get Hurt On the Job?

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, so it is time to focus on why disability insurance is worthy of consideration. Virtually everyone has seen that goose making funny noises on TV, but how much do you really know about your risk of getting sick or injured, and what it can do to your income?

A recent survey revealed that even out of Americans who had disability insurance plans, two in three did not know what those plans covered. Furthermore, among the general populous, only one in four Americans who are working have disability plans in place. This means only 1 in 12 American workers both have disability insurance and understand the product they have purchased.

Naturally, the same survey also determined that two-thirds of the families that did not have coverage would not be able to survive financially if an accident or illness put their primary breadwinner out of commission for more than three months. These are dismal numbers and one of the primary reasons we designate an entire month out of the year to educating consumers on Disability Insurance.

If you think that being unable to work for three whole months seems like an unlikely scenario, here are some facts; the average disability claim is for 31.2 months. That is two and a half years of not working. Could your family survive that? What would you have to give up if you had to survive on just your spouse’s income? (Or, what would you have to do to scrape some money together if you had an injury that kept you homebound most of your days?)

If you think that making a disability claim in the first place is unlikely, consider this; 33% of women and 25% of men have to claim disability at least once during their lifetime. That means, statistically speaking, that your typical married, two-worker couple has close to a 50% chance of having one of the two household breadwinners disabled at some point during their lives.

Americans are still struggling with family finances, with wages remaining flat while prices for core items such as food and energy are continually on the rise. In addition, significant family-goal items such as purchasing a home and paying for college tuition seem to be getting further out of reach. For many families, insurance may seem like an unnecessary expense. However, it is precisely the family that is continually living near the edge that needs disability insurance the most. When a single accident can literally mean the difference between a modest middle-class lifestyle and a decade-long trip into the depths of poverty, the need for disability insurance cannot be understated.

 

Since there are many facets of disability insurance, it is important to contact a Maryland business insurance agent to discuss the details of this coverage and find out how to provide coverage for you and your family.