A:

Disability insurance policies are designed to partially replace your income in the event that you become disabled and cannot continue to work. To help limit the amount of fraudulent disability claims, it is not feasible for the insurer to replace 100% of the income that is lost due to disability. Because of this, most insurance companies will only cover up to 60% of the earned income of the insured. Depending on your profession, there are special cases where insurance companies have made exceptions for certain professions, such as interns, residents, fellows and physicians, which allows a policy to have coverage in excess of the 60% threshold.

Disability insurance policies for professions under the “special limits” mentioned above, typically have a guaranteed level premium cost up until age 65. If you’re looking to save money on premiums, maybe because you are new to your profession and not yet earning the “big bucks”, you can get what’s called a “graded premium” disability insurance. This type of policy has the same benefits as level premium policies but the premium starts lower and increases each year. With a graded premium disability insurance policy, you’ll get a low-cost policy with a high level of insurance coverage while guaranteeing your insurability for future years. This is a good low-cost option that helps recent graduates get disability coverage while allowing them time to get established, at which point a decision can be made to find a better policy with level premiums.

Learn more about this topic in our related articles: The Disability Insurance Policy: Now In English and Protecting Your Income Source.

This question was answered by Steven Merkel.