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

Additional amount of surplus generated by an additional amount of capital to be included in the surplus above that required by the statutory requirements. This additional surplus is ...

Elements common to all life insurance policies. While state insurance laws do not prescribe the exact words that must be in a life insurance policy, certain standard provisions must be ...

Coverage for musicians and other providers of musical services such as musical instrument dealers. Musical instruments, service equipment, and sheet music are insured on an all risks basis ...

Conditions found in employee benefit plans such as pensions, under which minimum requirements, such as 20 years of service, must be met by an employee to qualify for benefits. ...

Irrevocable living trust (rights to make any changes are forfeited by the grantor permanently) in which the grantor forfeits control of all assets placed in the trust. However, the grantor ...

Policies that have been sold to and paid for by an insured, but not yet delivered to the insured. ...

Difference between the yield on earning assets and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities. ...

Investment risk associated with the psychology of the market in that emotions affect the price of a company's stock that, in most instances, has nothing to do with the current or potential ...

Endowment period of time, in life insurance, at which the face amount of the policy is payable to the insured. ...

Popular Insurance Questions