Long-Term Disability Insurance Cost

Do I need long-term disability insurance?

When thinking about the future no one imagines that they will develop a serious illness or have a serious injury that leaves them unable to work for years, or possibly forever. But everyday people have to face the reality that they may not be able to work for a long period of time (or ever again) either because of an illness or injury.  

According to a 2018 study, estimates are that 51 million people or more don’t have any disability insurance to help protect themselves if they become disabled.¹ And approximately 1 in 7 adults between the ages of 35 and 65 can expect to become disabled for five years or more.² Purchasing a disability insurance plan can help protect you and your family from potential consequences of disability like a foreclosure on your home or bankruptcy. If you were to become disabled tomorrow, are you financially prepared to have no income? 

Long-term disability insurance won’t start paying benefits immediately when you become sick or injured. It’s designed to pay out benefits over a certain period of time so there is typically an initial waiting period of anywhere from 90-120 days before the benefits start. You can purchase short-term disability benefits to help provide cash flow during the waiting period or you can rely on your savings if you have a couple of months of savings to fall back on. 

More than half of Americans don’t have several months of savings to rely on. According to a 2018 study, only 48% of Americans say that they have enough savings to cover their expenses for three months.³ Even if you were one of the few workers who was able to save 10% of their salary for a year to provide a financial cushion, just three months of being disabled could wipe out your savings⁴, leaving you with no income possibly for years.  

When you buy a long-term disability insurance policy if you become disabled you will receive a percentage of your salary, while you are unable to work or for up to the term of the policy, which can be anywhere from five years to 30 years. The benefit is usually about 60% of your salary.⁵ Typically, you will need to wait until the 90 or 180 elimination period is over to start getting benefits but after that, your benefit will be paid monthly for the duration of the policy term, while you are disabled. 

It’s difficult to imagine what it would be like to be unable to work and take care of yourself and your family. But investing in long-term disability insurance means that if you become disabled you won’t have to worry about trying to make ends meet with just Social Security benefits or a pension if you have one from your job. You will be able to focus on getting the medical care that you need and finding a new path forward knowing that you will have money coming in to help you pay for the mortgage, medical expenses, utilities, and other essentials.  

Long-term disability insurance coverage

Guardian Direct®  PayGuard Plus program makes the long-term disability insurance cost something that almost anyone can afford. PayGuard Plus is a lifeline for individuals and families when the primary earner becomes disabled and unable to work. 

When you purchase long-term disability insurance through PayGuard Plus you will receive benefits as long as you are disabled and unable to work.  

The benefits that you receive from PayGuard Plus if you become disabled are yours to use however you want to use them just like your paycheck. There are no restrictions on how that money must be spent.  

PayGuard Plus has a waiting period of 90 or 180 days depending on the policy. During the elimination period stated in the policy, you will not receive any benefits payments but you will start receiving benefits as soon as the waiting period is over.  

How to find long-term disability insurance near me

PayGuard Plus has a PDQ Quick application so that applying for long-term disability insurance is fast and easy. If you work for the government or if you work in real estate or a real-estate affiliated occupation you are not eligible to apply through the PDQ application and you should talk to your financial representative about LTD insurance coverage.  

One of the biggest advantages of applying using the PDQ form is that you won’t have to submit a bunch of financial information or medical records. The entire application process only takes a few minutes. Throughout the application process, you will be asked a series of yes or no questions that will help establish your general health situation so that you don’t need to spend time collecting your medical records or go through a lengthy application.  

Where can I find answers to my long-term disability insurance questions?

You probably have some questions about long-term disability insurance like “Where can I find long-term disability coverage near me?” Guardian Direct has the answers you need for the most commonly asked questions about long-term disability benefits, plans, choosing coverage amounts, and more. But in the time it takes to get those answers you could get a no-fuss streamlined long-term disability insurance quote or fill out the PayGuard Plus PDQ application and find out what plans are available that best fit your unique situation.  

Characteristics of long-term disability insurance & Insights 

If you want to learn more about long-term disability or you have more long-term disability insurance questions about direct-to-consumer individual long-term disability insurance after you fill out your application or purchase your LTD policy, you can look through Guardian Direct's vast library full of tips, information, resources, and insights about planning for the unknown. You can find out more about what LTDI is and how it works, or information on how much long-term disability insurance you need. 

If you haven’t already, completed the PayGuard Plus PDQ application for long-term disability insurance benefits you can do that now and get protected in as little as 24 hours.