Private Insurance vs. Social Security Disability

Every single worker in the United States runs the risk of losing income because of a disability that prevents them from working. But, as an employee, have you taken a serious look at your options to protect your income? Some people cannot go a single day without earning an income because they need the money to pay for bills, student loans, utilities, buy food and provide for their family. No matter the situation you are in, it’s important to understand your options, including private disability insurance versus Social Security Disability.

What is Private Disability Insurance?

If you are concerned that a disability could wind up affecting your ability to work in the future, you might want to consider purchasing your own disability insurance. This type of insurance policy is available to anyone who wishes to pay the premiums from their own pockets. It is not provided by an employer since it is a standalone insurance policy. This policy can be bought to supplement insurance offered by an employer or to protect against unforeseen loss of income from a debilitating illness or other disability.

One of the biggest benefits of purchasing private disability insurance is that the majority of these plans do not require you to show total or permanent disability. Instead, you will only need to show that you will miss some portion of work. Social Security Disability Insurance, SSDI, requires you to show that you are unable to perform any work at all and must show total disability.

The most common forms of private disability insurance include the following:

• Own occupation coverage that comes with time limits: this policy provides insurance for an employee who cannot perform their job duties but only provides insurance for a limited time.
• Own occupation coverage: this policy provides insurance coverage for employees who cannot perform the duties of their profession because of a disability and has no time limits.
• Any occupation coverage: this policy provides insurance coverage for employees who are unable to perform any type of job because of a disability.

An added benefit associated with private disability insurance is that it will likely provide more compensation compared to payouts issued when covered by Social Security Disability Insurance. The majority of policies purchased privately by workers cover up to 70 percent of the worker’s salary when they become disabled and cannot perform the duties of their job.

What is Social Security Disability Insurance?

More than 150 million workers are covered by Social Security Disability Insurance. Of those 150 million workers, more than eight million receive benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you have worked the required amount of time, you become automatically eligible for SSDI coverage. The average benefits paid out per month are around $1,140 for a total of just over $13,000 per year.

In order for you to qualify for these benefits, a worker must show that they have met the strict definition of disability set forth by the agency. Any worker will need to show the following when applying for benefits from the SSA:

• You are unable to work in the occupation previously held
• You are unable to adjust to a new type of work
• The disability you have will prevent you from returning to work for at least one year

A partial or temporary disability will not qualify you for any level of insurance benefits from the Social Security Administration. If you do qualify for benefits, the SSA does not begin paying the benefits to you until you have been disabled for no less than five months. The SSA does view certain disabilities as severe, which means you do not have to prove that you are unable to work in order to receive benefits. One such disability viewed as severe is that of blindness.

SSDI benefits are free of charge to workers who qualify but know that most claims are denied initially by the SSA.

Call a Social Security Attorney Today

Have you been denied benefits from the Social Security Administration? Are you recently disabled and struggling to work? If so, you need to work with an experienced Social Security attorney in Montgomery, Alabama. The team from The Dansby Law Firm, P.C. will be able to evaluate your claim and help you get approved on the initial filing. Call our office at 334-834-7001 to schedule a consultation today.