'Disability Insurance Is Too Expensive... and I'm Invincible'

As an insurance professional, I get it: The loss of income due to accident or disease can be devastating. So I work hard to help my clients accept those inevitabilities, especially when there’s a relatively easy solution–in this case, income protection, in the way of disability income insurance. But, sadly, “I’ll just prop a phone up to my head” isn’t the only objection I come across…

2. Be ready for the “it’s too expensive” objection.

I hear the pushback about becoming “insurance poor.” But, when you’re considering the loss of income due to disability, that loss can be huge. When considering what is at risk without disability income replacement for me and my family, it’s enough for me to overcome the price, which frankly isn’t as much as many people think.

To help put the cost in perspective, I sometimes illustrate a choice between two jobs.

1. Job “A” pays a salary of $100,000 a year, but includes no benefits should you become too sick or injured to work.

2. Job “B,” on the other hand, pays $98,000 a year, and provides $60,000 a year in tax-free benefits to those who are too sick or injured to work.

This illustration provides a different way of considering the cost. Most people choose Job “B” because coverage consists of roughly two percent of their income, they’ll have the protection they’ll need to protect against the financial impact of a long-term disability. Your clients can check to see how much coverage may cost you by using this online calculator.

3. Remind clients that income is the foundation.

Income is the foundation to just about everything, including where we live, how we live, the house we live in, the decisions around our children’s college, our assets, our lifestyles. Leaving it unprotected could be too great a risk for most families, who would find that without money coming in could deplete their savings, retirement, lose their home, and ruin their credit rating. It makes financial sense to protect it. The result during a time of stress is that those with disability income insurance will be able to still receive an income and maintain financial stability.

— Read How to Streamline the Disability Insurance Claims Process on ThinkAdvisor.