| Your career is a direct result of hard work and a | | | | automobile accident (1 in 160); or even of death (1 in |
| substantial investment of time and money. Doesn't it | | | | 117), the advantage of disability insurance is clear. A |
| make sense to fully protect it? A disability could render | | | | February 2000 article in the New York Times reported |
| you helpless by taking away the one thing that you | | | | that 1 in 7 people between the ages of 35 and 60 will |
| need to safeguard all of your assets: your income. | | | | become disabled for five years or more. |
| Home, auto, life, and health insurance are certainly | | | | Despite these glaring statistics, many people still take a |
| valuable investments, but failure to couple them with | | | | substantial risk by ignoring the benefits offered by a |
| disability insurance will jeopardize your full financial | | | | disability insurance policy. In 2000, a survey by The |
| security. For example, health insurance might cover the | | | | Consumer Federation of America and The American |
| potential fiscal pitfalls of the medical bills that result | | | | Council of Life Insurers found that 82 percent of |
| from a disability, but the rest of your financial | | | | people do not have long-term disability insurance or |
| obligations are not going to come to a halt. Vehicle | | | | believe their coverage is inadequate. |
| payments, mortgages, insurance premiums, and even | | | | The alternatives to disability insurance all carry a |
| savings for the future are all important expenses that | | | | degree of risk or have some sort of drawback. Social |
| cannot be ignored just because you are disabled. | | | | Security benefits are difficult to qualify for and the |
| Unfortunately, the chances of becoming disabled might | | | | disability must prevent you from working in any |
| be greater than you think. | | | | occupation. Worker's compensation benefits are limited |
| According to the 1994 Statistical Abstract of the | | | | and only cover job-related sickness or injury. Other |
| United States, in the course of a year, odds are that 1 | | | | options-relying on savings, family, and/or friends-are not |
| in 10 people between the ages of 25 and 64 will suffer | | | | guaranteed and have considerable downside. |
| a disability. When comparing that ratio to the odds of | | | | Guard your assets-don't leave yourself vulnerable by |
| being victim of a house fire (1 in 122); injured in an | | | | neglecting to protect your income. |