Disability Income Insurance

Definition of "Disability income insurance"

Health insurance that provides income payments to the insured wage earner when income is interrupted or terminated because of illness, sickness, or accident. Definitions under this insurance include:

  1. Total and Partial Disability reduction in benefits if the insured is found to be partially disabled instead of totally disabled.
  2. Amount of Benefits many policies stipulate that all sources of disability income cannot exceed 50% to 80% of the insured's earnings prior to the disability, subject to a maximum absolute dollar amount.
  3. Duration of Benefits length of time benefits will be paid. Some policies will pay benefits for one or two years, whereupon the insured must agree to be retrained for other work. Other policies pay benefits as long as the insured is unable to do the job for which he or she is suited by training, education, and experience (often up to age 65, when retirement programs take over). Some policies pay lifetime benefits.
  4. ELIMINATION PERIOD (Waiting Period) period beginning with the first day of disability, during which no payments are made to the insured. The longer this period, the lower the premiums.
  5. Physician's Care the insured must be regularly attended by a legally qualified physician because it is necessary to assess changes in severity of disability.
  6. PREEXISTING CONDITION if an insured has a preexisting injury, sickness, or illness, most policies will not pay income benefits either for the duration of the policy or until a period of time (usually from six months to one year) has elapsed.
  7. Recurrent Disability most policies will not pay income benefits to an insured who is experiencing a recurrent disability unless the recurrent disability is deemed a new disability. Some more progressive policies define a recurrent disability as a new disability if there has been a break of at least six months between the first disability and the current disability, and the insured has returned to work during that break.
  8. RESIDUAL DISABILITY many policies pay for the unused portion of the total disability period, limited to age 65.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Liability insurance that provides coverage for the insured in the event the insured's negligent acts and/or omissions result in libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or false arrest suit. ...

Inability of the insured to perform one or more of the important daily duties of that insured's occupation. The income payment to the insured is reduced from that of total disability. ...

Same as term Depositors Forgery Insurance: coverage provided for individuals or businesses for loss due to forgery or alteration of such financial instruments as notes, checks, drafts, and ...

Risk incurred by the insurance company after it makes the commitment to make the loan at some future time and the borrower may not accept the loan at that time. ...

State that increases the probability of a loss. For example, storage of flammable material next to a furnace in one's home increases the hazard with the knowledge of an insured, and is ...

Provision in marine insurance listing onshore perils covered. In the case of marine cargo, these may include such occurrences as damage from flooding, sprinklers, collapse of docks, and ...

Business interruption insurance in which the insured is indemnified for loss of earnings and payment of expenses resulting from adverse weather conditions. For example, the raining out of a ...

To accept by a reinsurer, part or all of a risk transferred to it by a primary insurer or another reinsurer. ...

Liability exposure, in insurance, associated with three classifications of individuals that may come upon an insured property: TRESPASSER: individual enters without permission. Generally ...

Popular Insurance Questions