Disability Insurance for Established Independent Professionals and Executives

You are a successful independent professional, executive, or business owner, and your career is progressing.

 

It's fairly easy to pay bills and save money. You recognize the need to have the maximum disability coverage to help ensure that you are protected against the financial risks should you become ill or suffer an injury. If a disability or critical illness were to strike and you were unable to work, the picture could suddenly turn bleak. It might not be long before your savings are wiped out and you would have no income to pay bills or maintain lifestyle.

 

You demand the best coverage money can buy.

 

Protect yourself from purchasing sub-standard plans! Below are just some of the important features and benefits that should be considered by all high-income professionals. You should stay clear from plans that don't meet these criteria.

• Non-cancellable & Guaranteed Renewable Disability Coverage

   

  As long as the premiums are paid when due, the insurance company cannot cancel the policy, increase the premium or change the benefits of the policy, prior to age 65.

  
  There are many "economical" plans offered in the marketplace that expose you to increasing premiums and benefits that can change at any time.
• Choice of Partial or Residual disability benefits
  
  Partial Disability exists if you are not totally disabled, but you are engaged in a gainful occupation and due to injury or sickness you are unable to perform one or more of the important duties of that occupation, or you are unable to perform the important duties of that occupation for at least 50% of the time. You must be under a doctor's care. Partial benefits are subject to the same waiting periods and benefit periods as are total disability benefits.
  
  If you are not totally disabled, but experiencing a loss of earned income of at least 20% (but less than 75%) due to injury or sickness, the insurance company will pay a proportionate to loss of income residual disability benefit. Loss of income of 75% or more pays 100% of the monthly benefit.

• Lifetime Renewal

   

  Most professionals and business owners continue to enjoy their success by working well beyond the age of 65. So why should your coverage have to end?
  
  After age 65, modified coverage may be continued on an annually renewable basis as long as you continue to work full time. The benefit period will be 24 months. No evidence of medical or financial insurability will be required.

• Portability

   

  Your plan will remain intact regardless of where you work.

• Return of Premium Benefits

   

  Unlike some life insurance products, disability insurance is a pure insurance. This means there are no dividends or cash values. At retirement, if minimal or no claims have been collected, the premiums paid will have simply been a cost of ensuring appropriate insurance coverage. However, the Return of Premium Rider turns the cost of being healthy into a reward for being healthy.

   

  The return of premium rider refunds 70% of premiums paid at the end of the 10th policy year, and every 8 policy years thereafter. It also pays at death or policy expiry.

• Unlimited Indexing of Prior Earned Income

   

  No one would be financially secure if they were living on a disability benefit that was fixed 25 years ago. So what about 25 years from now? Inflation traditionally erodes fixed income financial products. The Cost of Living Rider reduces the impact of inflation by providing yearly adjustments to the monthly benefit during a prolonged disability.

   

  During disability, prior earnings will be adjusted annually based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In the event of a CPI decrease, the adjusted prior earnings will not be reduced below the actual prior earnings. Other than the CPI, there is no annual or overall maximum adjustment. This feature protects against the negative impact of inflation during residual disability.

  
  Inflation could reduce a residually disabled person's loss of earned income (hence reducing the residual benefit), even though the person's condition has not substantially changed. This adjustment feature reduces this concern.

• Protect your Professional Career

  
  Most professionals have a great deal invested in their occupation - years of training, years of experience, and thousands of dollars. Many feel that although they might be able to obtain alternative employment during a total disability, they would experience a drastic reduction in income. The Own Occupation Rider provides occupational coverage, meaning if total disability exists in the regular occupation, benefits are payable without regard to income from other employment.

• Insure your Future Needs

  
  Often income rises over a person's working years, and health may deteriorate. Although most people fully insure themselves when they purchase a disability insurance policy, they usually find this amount becomes insufficient as their careers progress. Unfortunately, these people may not qualify medically to bring their coverage up to the required level. A Future Needs Rider alleviates this problem by guaranteeing that additional coverage may be purchased on specified option dates, regardless of the person's state of health.

• Eliminate the waiting period with a "Catch-Up Benefit"

   

  Although you'll need a source of income at the onset of a disability, insurance policies rarely pay benefits from the first day of disability. Such a policy would be so expensive, very few people would want to buy it.

   

  Most clients opt for a longer waiting period, as premiums for disability insurance policies with a 30-day waiting period can be almost double those with a 90-day waiting period.

   

  What happens if your disability waiting period forces you to deplete the emergency fund you've worked so hard to preserve? You'll receive your monthly benefit after your waiting period expires, but will all those hard-earned dollars be "lost" after spending months without your regular source of income?

   

  This benefit helps replenish your emergency fund if your total disability extends beyond 180 days. By adding this feature to your disability policy, you'll receive all the benefits you missed during your waiting period in one convenient lump-sum payment.

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