What would most Americans do if they could no longer count on it?
NEW YORK, N.Y., May 27, 2015 — One in four 20-year-olds will become disabled before they retire.1
Ninety percent of disabilities are not caused by accidents but by illness, including cancer, depression, back problems and heart disease.2
As insurance companies and industry groups prepare for Disability Insurance Awareness Month, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian) is launching an online video series on YouTube depicting actual customers whose disability income insurance policies have had a powerful impact on their financial well-being.
People using DI strategies
The short videos provide real-life examples of people using disability insurance strategies to safeguard their paychecks and financial goals, including:
- A profile of Dr. Vithal Kardani, a highly successful anesthesiologist who became ill and could no longer work. Guardian’s Whole Life and Disability Income Insurance helped secure his family’s financial future, including his daughters’ medical school education, and allowed them to focus on maintaining Dr. Kardani’s health.
- The Security to Pursue Your Dreams video, which provides information on how workplace benefits provide another avenue to attain top-quality disability insurance with affordable pricing. After Joseph Spaid, a film director and freelance FX artist, experienced a surfing accident, the reality of being unable to earn a paycheck prompted him to secure disability income insurance through Freelancers Union.
Understanding Disability Income insurance.
Excerpts:
How Long Could You Afford to Live Without a Paycheck?
You rely on your income to fund every aspect of your life. If you are like one of the millions of Americans who unexpectedly becomes unable to work each year due to illness or injury, the last thing you want to worry about is how to continue paying your bills without an income.
A common misconception about disability income insurance is that its sole purpose is to cover against catastrophic events resulting from accidents.
In fact, illnesses like cancer, depression, and multiple sclerosis far more often impact your ability to work and support yourself and your family. Individual disability income insurance is designed to protect your income if you cannot work due to illness or injury.
The Time to Consider Protecting Your Income is Now
- Apply While You’re Healthy. You get the most favorable terms by buying disability insurance before you need it. Once you’re too sick or injured to work, you usually can’t get the protection you need.
- Lock in Pricing. Once you have your policy, the amount you pay each month is guaranteed, and the insurance company can never cancel your coverage as long as you make your payments on time.
- Secure Coverage While on the Path to Your Career. If you’re studying to become a professional such as a doctor, dentist, or a lawyer, you can apply for insurance before you graduate, with options to increase coverage as your income grows.
- Customize Your Coverage. You can select options to customize your protection. These options can let you increase coverage as your income grows and help keep pace with the cost of living. You can even buy coverage to help you replace your retirement plan contributions or protect your ability to repay student loans during a period that you can’t work due to sickness or injury.
“Unfortunately, most people significantly underestimate their risk for disability,” said Gordon Dinsmore, President of Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, a wholly owned stock subsidiary of Guardian that issues individual disability income insurance policies.
For more information, please visit here. Disability Insurance Awareness Month is an annual educational initiative held every May and coordinated by the nonprofit Life Happens.
1 U.S. Social Security Administration Fact Sheet, January 2015.
2 Council for Disability Awareness 2014 Long-Term Disability Claims Review.
About Guardian
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) is one of the largest mutual life insurers, with $6.8 billion in capital and $1.3 billion in operating income (before taxes and dividends to policyholders) in 2014. Founded in 1860, the company has paid dividends to policyholders every year since 1868. Its offerings range from life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and investments for individuals to workplace benefits, such as dental, vision, and 401(k) plans for businesses. The company has approximately 5,000 employees and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 70 agencies nationwide. For more information about Guardian, please visit www.guardianlife.com.
