Disability Insurance

[Jon Page]

It is my understanding from my agent's information that diability insurance
lasts for five years. After that Social Security takes over.
Mine kicks in after six months and covers basics. It last five years.
SInce it covers basics, the premiums are lower and it is not worth my
while to become disabled. :-)

There might be longer term coverage, In don't know, but I'm sure it
would cost more.  One could end up insurance-poor if you don't look out.

Jon Page


At 12:03 PM 12/17/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>In a message dated 98-12-16 10:14:46 EST, you write:
>>
>><< I'm interested in what kind of disability insurance, if any, some of you
>>might
>> be using.  Is the PTG program the best coverage and rate or are there
better
>> ones out there?  I think social security pays some benefits in the event
that
>> you become unable to work.  Is it enough to get by?
>> David Porter
>> St. Louis, MO
>>  >>
>>
>>
>>David:
>>
>>I don't think the PTG insurance has a disability option. I have my self
>>covered for enough to pay the mortgage on the house and the utilities. The
>>rest, Jan will ahve to work and make ends meet.
>>
>>There are lots of different companies out there, but when you do get
coverage,
>>be sure there are two very important aspects: They can't cancell you no
matter
>>how bad health you are in, and they can't raise your rates.
>>
>>Wim
>
>
>Regarding disability insurance, it may not be possible to lock a company in
>to not be able to raise the rates.  If your agent has told you otherwise,
>you might just want to read your policy.  He/she may have made that
>statement to urge you to make the purchase.  I need to double check on
>this, I could be mistaken.  As I said earlier, I'm not as familiar with
>disability products as others, but the only insurance product I am aware of
>in which rates can't increase is old fashioned Whole Life Insurance, also
>commonly referred to as "Straight Life".  There is also a product out there
>called "Hospital Indemnity", which typically does not increase rates, but I
>can't recall if they are actually locked in.  But given the type of
>premium-to-benefit ratio involved in disability insurance, it would make
>sense to me that the company would protect itself here.  For most products
>which deal with health issues, which includes disability coverage,
>contracts typically provide that a policyowner can not be singled out for a
>rate increase, but that the company can increase rates to all policyowners
>on an equal basis.  If a company's claims begin to exceed its premiums,
>then it becomes insolvent, and you certainly don't want that.
>
>Another point which is very important is that once you've secured a plan,
>that shouldn't be the end of the process.  It is in YOUR best interest to
>stay in contact with your agent and reevaluate your coverage on a regular
>periodic basis because your NEEDS CHANGE over time.  That's not just your
>agent's excuse to come get you to buy something.  I often dropped or
>lowered a client's coverage because it was no longer needed.  This applies
>to any life, health, accident, disability, or any other type of insurance
>you purchase for that matter.
>
>It's the same premise with which we sell our piano service.  Educate
>yourself about insurance.  It's worth your time to do so.  It is better to
>know what you're buying than to let someone explain it to you, because
>often, the agent just doesn't have the time to explain everything.  The
>agent is often also trained to NOT explain everything or else the customer
>might not buy.  That is not to say that this is shady.  But much like the
>work we do, it is sometimes better for the CUSTOMER, if the customer
>doesn't know everything.  Take it from experience.  I had prospects who,
>after I explained things more clearly than other agents had, decided not to
>purchase life insurance simply because they ignorantly believed that life
>insurance was supposed to do something it never has done. (Kind of like
>that client who adamantly believes that a piano tuning fee has always also
>included cleaning?)  A couple of those very same "clients" later died with
>no coverage at all.
>
>Happy hunting,
>Jeff ex-agent Tanner
>
>Jeff Tanner, Piano Technician
>School of Music
>University of South Carolina
>Columbia, SC 29208
>(803)-777-4392 (phone)
>(803)-777-6508 (fax)
>
>
>