Short Term Disability Insurance (STD) and Benefits Q&A, Part 5

As readers of my blog and website, most people know that I like to keep things light and fun. Unfortunately, the subject doesn't really have a light side and it's certainly not fun. I mean who really wants to talk about getting injured, right? So I apologize to this article is a little bit dry and boring, but I think that you'll find it very informative.

I pay for my short term disability through work which covers me for 6 months in the event of a disability but could get additional months coverage to compliment my long-term policy which kicks in after 6 months.

Does the premium you pay for a short term disability group plan cost more if you choose a plan when applying for coverage with a longer duration of coverage, since the insurance company would be taking a greater financial risk having to pay you for additional months?

You are right on the money here. The longer you request to have the insurance company pay a portion of your salary the higher the premium will be. Now this is justifiable by the insurance company because what you are doing is transferring the risk of you becoming disabled and not having any income to pay your bills to the insurance company. Depending on your age the probability of becoming disabled for 90 days or longer prior to age 65 is as follows:

25 yr old: 53.7%
30 yr old: 52.2%
35 yr old: 50.3%
47 yr old: 47.7%
55 yr old: 32.1%

As this table shows (and I have more numbers for other ages if I didn't get yours on here) the younger you are the higher you chances are of becoming disabled for a long period of time than when you are closer to age 65. This doesn't mean that you need to drop your coverage, but it means that once you have hit the retirement age you can.

One other thing to consider when looking at your short term disability insurance or any other insurance you have, is to look into getting some individual coverage that you can take with you if you decide to change jobs, because what would happen if you decided to take a two week vacation to Mexico in between, did some wild and crazy thing like zip-lining, and fell from 100 ft up in a tree? Now you're stuck because you can't start work at the new place, and your old work policy is no longer in force, (don't laugh at this scenario, it has happen) and now you don't have a pay check to pay your mortgage/rent!

As an Aflac agent, I can tell you that our short term disability insurance is both transferable and affordable. If you are in the San Diego area, feel free to contact me. Otherwise, check out Aflac's website at www.aflac.com

My employer does not offer short term disability insurance. Anybody know of good insurance companies that offer INDIVIDUAL short term disability insurance? I want to purchase my own, personal disability insurance before I have my baby in six months. Do you have any recommendations?

There are many short term disability policies that will cover maternity leave. However, all of them have exclusionary periods, and some of those periods can last up to 18 months. And exclusionary period is the amount of time that you must be with the policy for until you will be able to have a particular disability covered such as pregnancy. The insurance companies do this because otherwise people would only buy insurance when they know that they are going to need it soon and then drop it when they no longer need it.

And with a baby due in six months, that's like placing a bet that you're going to get pregnant when you already know that you are pregnant.

As an Aflac agent, I know that we have the shortest exclusionary period on the market. Our exclusionary period it is only 10 months, and our short term disability policies are very affordable and transferable. Furthermore, Aflac pays out benefits very quickly... most within four days.

Here's more Q&A about short term disability insurance:

• What is STD coverage?
• How does one become eligible for STD insurance?
• How much do I get paid if I cannot work due to injury or sickness?
• Does STD insurance cover health coverage?
• What kind of requirements, do I need to meet for enrollment and eligibility?
• What restrictions are there with the STD coverage?
• What's the difference between private STD coverage and federal and state programs?
• What happens if I am laid off or fired?
• How long does STDlast?
• I am on STD and I was recently terminated because I have no more sick time. I pay $20 a week through payroll and I would like to know if my employer has to pay the premium?
• I purchased a Aflac STD policy seven months ago because I was told that it covers pregnancy since it can be used for maternity. I am now pregnant and am due to deliver in seven months. What are the steps I need to take to receive my benefits?
• I have a Doctor's note stating not to lift weights heavier than 15 lbs for a period of 5 weeks. Human Resources has approved the doctor's note and says I have to be on STD because my job description requires me to lift 50 lbs. However, my department head is thinking about putting me in a different role for those 5 weeks that would not require me to do heavy lifting. My questions are: 1) Can I choose STD over the desk job or is that up to my department head? 2) Is he legally allowed to keep me in the office and pay me a lower wage just to avoid paying me STD? 3) What if the desk job pays me even less than I would have gotten for STD payments?
• I was in a car accident and my neck and back suffered a sprain. I have been doing physical therapy and have not been working since for the past two months. My employer does not want to pay for anything else after four weeks of being off so if I go back to work now and still suffer from pain would my whole STD process start over?
• When I first applied for my insurance I did not apply for STD. I am now 8 months pregnant and I have already been put on leave and discovered that my employer mistakenly cancelled my insurance. They have re-enrolled me and I opted for STD as well. Then my paycheck did not have the premiums deducted so I brought it to the attention of my employer. They said I will have to be reinstated once again. Well, I may have this baby at any time, so what are my rights? If the insurance goes through, will I get paid for my maternity leave?
• I pay for my STD through work which covers me for 6 months in the event of a disability but could get additional months coverage to compliment my long-term policy which kicks in after 6 months. Does the premium you pay for a Short-Term group plan cost more if you choose a plan when applying for coverage with a longer duration of coverage, since the insurance company would be taking a greater financial risk having to pay you for additional months?
• My employer does not offer STD insurance. Anybody know of good insurance companies that offer INDIVIDUAL STD insurance? I want to purchase my own, personal disability insurance before I have my baby in six months. Do you have any recommendations?