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

Cost of the assets listed on the accounting records of the company. These assets include the following: real estate (to include any adjustments for depreciation), transportation equipment ...

Application for a policy, in life insurance, accompanied by the first premium; in property and casualty insurance, the insurance application itself. ...

Combination of two basic plans: accumulating units of paid-up permanent life insurance, and decreasing units of group term life insurance. The premium paid each month consists of the (a) ...

Account established to manage the assets of a minor. This account is under the auspices of a custodian (either an individual or an institution). The gift tax exclusion would apply on any ...

Value in life insurance policies that entitle the insured to these choices: to relinquish the policy for its CASH SURRENDER VALUE. (Note that in the beginning years the cash value may be ...

Written statements on a form by a prospective insured about himself, including assets and other personal information. These statements and additional information, such as a medical report, ...

Transfer of the cash value of the policy from the policyowner to the policyowner's creditor as security for a loan. ...

Rules passed as part of the tax reform act of 1986 that limit the amount of income investors can shelter from current tax. Losses can be deducted from passive activities only in the amount ...

Value of a share of common stock, derived by dividing the total common stockholders' equity at the end of a period of time by the total number of shares outstanding at the end of the same ...

Popular Insurance Questions