While many people are aware of the need for the protections that insurance policies provide – life insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, etc. – one of the most important and most overlooked types of insurance is disability income insurance. Disability insurance protects your income when you’re unable to work due to an illness or injury.

When you are disabled, even if only for a short time, your expenses go up, not down, so having less income to cover higher expenses can be devastating to your family finances. And the chances that you will be disabled before age 65 are much higher than that chances that you will die before age 65. Only disability insurance provides this important protection.

If you have the option to enroll in a disability policy as part of a group – through your employer, or a membership or trade association – you should certainly take a look at doing so. Unlike individual coverage, with group insurance, once you meet the eligibility requirements, you’re automatically covered. As like group health insurance, your premiums will be lower than if you’d sought the same coverage on your own and not as part of the group.

While group disability coverage has many advantages, there are some disadvantages that you should know about. With a group plan, you have no choice about the plan design. The waiting period and the level of benefits are fixed, and may not be enough to protect you fully if you become disabled. In addition, there is a limited enrollment period. If you attempt to sign up outside of that period, you may have exclusions placed on your policy, or you may be turned down for coverage altogether. Most group policies are also non-portable, meaning that if you leave the group, you don’t have the option of taking the coverage with you, leaving you unprotected. And finally, premiums for group plans can go up annually, whether you’ve had any disability claims or not.

Having disability coverage through a group is a great start. But if you want to be sure that you’re fully protected, that your premiums will remain the same, and that you won’t find yourself without coverage when you need coverage the most, you need to look at getting your own supplemental individual coverage as well. Get a free supplement disability insurance quote today, or call (866) 972-3262 to speak with a BeamaLife disability specialist!