Disability income insurance

Most health insurance plans pay for expenses associated with illness or accidents.

Some plans pay for loss of earnings during a period of disability. The ability to work and earn an income is more important, especially to a person who is supporting a family.

Most disability income insurance covers a short period only.

A plan to cover long term disability can be costly. To hold down the cost, some plans have restrictive provisions:

* coverage for accident only, or include illness?
* the compensation is limited to, say, 60% of the current earnings
* the benefit period may be limited to a certain period
* there is no payment during the initial period of a claim, ie the waiting period

Definition of disability:

* hospital confinement (very restrictive)
* inability to perform one's regular occupation (very wide)
* inability to perform any occupation for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience.