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Making the most of your Disability insurance policy

Should you unfortunately have an accident or are sick, disability insurance has been designed to provide an income for you; financial commitments mean we all have regular bills to pay whether we are sick or not. This allows a person who is incapacitated to get well without having to worry about how their family will survive. The chances of you being in need of a disability protection plan before the age of 65 far exceeds the possibility of death prior to this age.However, more people buy life insurance long before considering the advantages of disability coverage. If you are aged 40 for example, there is a higher chance that you will be disabled, and thus unable to work for a period of 90 days or more, than of you dying before the age of 65. The problem is disability insurance costs more than basic life cover as it is costlier to provide. Unlike life cover, disability rates are based on the potential income lost as well as, age, occupation and general health. You can of course place a payment delay period on the policy to help lower the premium. this way the claim would not be made immediately, saving the provider money. Another option to lower the monthly premiums is put a limit on how long the payments are to be made before they stop although; although you need to bear in mind that once your period of benefit ceases you would have to support yourself.Irrespective of what plan you decide upon, most providers will only pay a percentage of your salary. There are two policy options available; the first is short term disability insurance which only covers the claimant for a few months of incapacity. The other option is total disability cover; this can provide a long term (but reduced) income although this is only granted if the person can show they are no longer able to carry out their previous job.Whatever the situation, a person making a claim owing to incapacitation will be sent a disability benefit check every month until the end of the plan or they return to work. Other key points to consider when looking into health policies are if there are restrictions on:  *If there are any medical restrictions *Monthly benefit payment is taxable or tax free *How long the payments are made *Whether your occupation will increase the cost of premiums Remember that every disability insurance policy is different and they will not all provide exactly the same benefits, including how much they will pay as a percentage of your income. This percentage of your income paid by your insurance plan can be as little as forty percent or as much as seventy percent, so you can see there is quite some variation. This needs to be checked thoroughly especially if you have a family with large financial commitments each month. If your provider cannot add benefits like having wheelchairs there is always an option of  wheelchair rental available.