Since the primary reason for purchasing a disability income insurance policy is to replace any income that may be lost due to a disability, it’s imperative to have an adequate amount of coverage in place before a disability occurs.
Edward E. Graves, author of “McGill’s Life Insurance” says there are three methods a non-disabled person can employ to make sure their benefits are enough to support their income prior to a disability. The general rule of thumb is if you received a raise or your expenses have increased, so should your benefits.
An outdated and less ideal method is to buy new disability insurance policies to supplement the in-force polices in increments as your income increases. The downside is that every incremental amount of coverage you buy may require evidence of insurability. If you’re in poor health, additional coverage may not be an option.
The second method is through a rider that guarantees the right to purchase additional coverage at future intervals up to a specified age of 45 or 55. Every time an adjustment is needed, more coverage needs to be bought. What makes it unique from the previous option is you can buy additional amounts regardless of your health.
The most popular method is to use a rider that automatically increases the disability insurance benefit amount and adjusts to your current income. Typically, this comes in the form of a flat-percentage amount on each policy’s anniversary. You still have to buy more coverage and premiums increase along with them and age.
For more information regarding disability insurance, look at the facts and figures from Social Security Online.
