Taking out disability insurance is key to protecting your assets

On Behalf of | Jun 20, 2019 | Asset Protection Planning |

If you work a full-time job in Bridgewater, then you likely receive annual visits from a New Jersey insurance representative. They probably ask if you wish to make changes to your coverage or beneficiary designations. They probably offer you long-term disability insurance. It’s an important way to protect your assets and a critical part of the estate planning process.

Individuals take out all different types of insurance. You buy collision coverage on your automobile to help cover the cost of repairs if you’re involved in a crash. You purchase flood insurance to cover the remodeling of your home if it’s overcome by water. Then there’s health insurance. You use it to cover any costly medical care that you may need.

All of these can minimize your out-of-pocket costs for unexpected expenses. None of them provide you with a way to ensure that you have food on your table or that your utilities get paid if you were to become incapacitated though.

Long-term disability insurance can provide you with a way to continue paying your bills without having to sell off your investments or tap into your savings or retirement account though. Without such coverage, you may face financial ruin.

Even though it’s beneficial to have such coverage, the insurer Protective argues that only one-third of Americans are protected by a disability insurance policy. Most people don’t take out this coverage because they assume that they won’t get hurt. Others believe that their workers’ compensation coverage will cover their lost wages and medical costs if they do get hurt. They don’t realize that it only covers them if they’re injured on the job.

Data recently published by the Social Security Administration (SSA) shows that 25% of 20-somethings will end up with a disabling condition before they make it to the age of retirement.

The insurer Unum found that there’s been an uptick in the reporting of joint disorders and musculoskeletal conditions in recent years.

Individuals without disability coverage could find themselves suffering from a permanent, disabling condition with no ability to support themselves. This leaves them vulnerable to having to ask others for help or having to tap into savings to make ends meet. This could cause an individual who spent years working to have nothing to leave behind for their heirs. An attorney can help you make sure that this doesn’t happen.

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