In my line of work, I encounter employees who go through the unfortunate circumstances of an unplanned leave from work. This can be devastating to a family especially if the leave is due to an accident or an unexpected illness. Families have to deal with what is going on with their loved ones as well as deal with the loss of income with dire consequences such as losing their home or car. Many families are one income families and are adversely affected if there is no income coming in for over a month. This is usually true especially for people who did not purchase short term disability insurance.
Short term disability insurance pays a percentage of your salary for a specified amount of time due to loss of income caused by a disability. The percentage of salary paid is 50-70% though there are companies that pay 100%. The insurance is either employer or employee sponsored. Most employers offer a group plan that is not very high cost. The duration of this benefit is typically between 10-26 weeks.
I have seen many employees decline this insurance because they do not want to pay the premiums. However it is a small price to pay to save you the headache of trying to recover while worrying about how to pay your bills. Most men assume short term disability is for women since they are the ones that may need maternity leave but anyone can have an accident or a sudden illness. It is a great supplement to an emergency fund especially when loss of a substantial part of a family income has occurred.
Individual STD policies are not widely available. It is better to but STD coverage through your employer. SOme insurers sell "accident policies" that will pay you money each month for a year if you are injured in an accident which may work for people who are self employed. The specific rules for each policy will vary but it a must have for working families.
No comments:
Post a Comment