Talk to me about long-term disability insurance.  I'm concerned about being able to provide for my kids if I get sick.  What is the best company?  Are there any companies that offer payments that are adjusted for inflation?  If I move to another state, does the insurance come with me?  Are there any major caveats I should be aware of?

I'm not an expert but I will share what I know from my policy at work. Mine is employer provided and ends if/when I leave. Your policy will have a waiting period before it kicks in-generally 6 months. The monthly maximum monthly payout will be somewhere around 60% of your current salary. Since you will be paying the premium yourself, the benefit will be tax free.

You will also have to choose between own occupation or any occupation coverage. If you are a professional you will want to look for own occupation. My policy is own occupation for 3 years then it changes to any occupation.

Most policies stay in effect until you reach 65, then you are own your own.

I will add, be aware of a 'pre-existing condition ' clause.


At a previous job, a co-worker was diagnosed with a hernia several years earlier and they (aflac) denied him benefits when he had issues. They refunded his premiums

My long term care insurance is thru The Lincoln Financial Group…

Platinum Plan covers all major medical disabilities and other financial liabilities up until $ 250,000.00 max is met each year…

Mine is through work by The Hartford. 60% salary as a benefit, no taxes due as I pay the premium myself.

In my case, I have to use all short term disability and paid leave before it kicks in. And there is a ton of paperwork to get it started. Approximately two months in advance is when you need to apply for it...

Also lots of Doctors paperwork to verify.

Ok, thank you for the replies.

I have both long-term and short-term plans through my work (both covering 60% of my income), but I am planning (tentatively) to acquire supplemental private insurance.

The agent who I am conversing with wrote this as a final point in his email to me:



Obviously, I'll seek clarification the next time I talk to him, but what do you suppose this means?

Non cancellable means that they can't drop you if you're an accountant that decides to become a cop
(or something else with a bigger risk profile.)

I'm still carrying a disability policy I got nearly 40 years ago. It had an inflation adjustment but premiums increased
when that was exercised as well, so I opted to stop doing the increase to keep the premiums constant.

Self-employed/own my own company, when I got the policy it was about 80% of my income, it's way less than that
now due to my earning more -- you may want to take earnings growth into account and talk options with your
agent. (For me that meant re-applying and paying even more, but the income I'd get from the existing policy would
cover bills so I didn't do anything.)

Thanks Seek.

I have UNUM for D.I.  Actually got  the long term by mistake but was happy after all was said.  It's payable to 65.  After that they expect you to go SS full-time or die.

If you file for SSDI and are awarded it your D.I. carrier will expect you to sign any SS back payments to them as a form reimbursement for their paying you the full amount required.  Once you start getting paid by SS your D.I. monthly payment is reduced to either a contract minimum or the difference between the two. example: (2500 max D.I.) - (1700 SS) can't be more than 2500 total.  They also factor in child support and reduce your payment.  If SS pays a child benefit for school age children up to 19 then UNUM says that's a family benefit and reduces benefits regardless if you live out of state and are no longer required to pay child support.  So using the above example instead of $800 monthly payment it's reduced to $250 which is the least they are contracted to pay until your child graduates HS.  

Oh and with UNUM, expect to have surveillance conducted.  I used to be a private investigator and they were a client of mine.  I've caught 4 since 2016 in the act of conducting surveillance.  I just wave to let them know they've been burned.  

All in all disability insurance isn't bad in concept but like insurance they don't like paying.