Disability Insurance Are You Covered



What do you consider to be your most valuable asset Many people assume it's a material possession, such as their car, home or jewelry, but for most Americans, it is the ability to earn an income. Think about this: a 25-year-old worker who makes $50,000 a year stands to earn $3.8 million in future earnings. So an illness or injury that forces you out of work for an extended period of time can have dire financial consequences if you're unprepared. May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and to help people evaluate their need to insure their most valuable asset, Duffy G. Elliott, CPA, CFP with Elliott and Associates in Atlanta reviews three simple guidelines for purchasing disability insurance .

"Just as you would insure your car or home from unexpected damages, it's important that you insure your ability to earn an income," says Elliott. "The simple fact is that if you work for a living, you need disability insurance so that you can continue to receive an income if a disabling injury or illness prevents you from working for an extended period of time. A disability can stop your paycheck, but it won't stop your bills."

According to a recent report by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation, adult males have a one in four chance, and women a one in three chance, of suffering an illness or injury that keeps them out of work for 90 days or more. If you have any doubts as to how you or your family would manage without your income for a period of time, says Elliott, you need to assess coverage options to ensure you are adequately protected if you become disabled and unable to earn an income.

To help people evaluate their disability insurance needs, Elliott reviews two scenarios when disability insurance is absolutely crucial.

You work for a living. This is the simplest rule of thumb. If you work, you need disability insurance . Unfortunately, the vast majority of America's 140 million workers lack adequate disability income protection, even though about one in five can expect to be disabled for one year or more before retirement. Without that paycheck, most Americans couldn't make financial ends meet for long. Disability is behind nearly half of all mortgage foreclosures and a significant number of personal bankruptcies. According to a survey by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation, 70 percent of working Americans say they could only afford to take off one month or less of unpaid vacation before everyday expenses would pile up and force them to return to work. You need to be insured to cover your monthly expenses in the event you become disabled and can't work.

Your job does not offer disability insurance . If your employer does not offer disability insurance or the coverage available to you offered is inadequate for your needs, you should consider purchasing an individual policy on your own outside of work. The best way to determine how much disability insurance you need to protect you and your loved ones is to meet with a qualified insurance professional, who can conduct a needs analysis to determine the amount and type of disability insurance that's right for you. Also, the LIFE Foundation offers a disability insurance calculator to help consumers get a sense of how much they need. The calculator can be found at www.lifehappens.org/disabilitycalculator.

For additional information on disability insurance and other helpful tips for purchasing coverage, visit www.lifehappens.org/disabilityinsurance.

About Disability Insurance Awareness Month

Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM) was created to get American workers to think about the need to protect their greatest asset - their ability to earn an income. Held in May, DIAM is an industry-wide effort that is coordinated by the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE).

Duffy G. Elliott, CPA, CFP is President of Elliott and Associates Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Dunwoody, Georgia.

He can be reached at 770-451-2446, or Duffy.elliott@investfinancial.com.

www.Elliottandassoc.net





Disability Insurance Are You Covered