Frequently Asked Questions - Disability Insurance

Many carriers do have different underwriting requirements during COVID-19 pandemic.  

Some life insurance applications are eligible to be issued without any lab work.  

Some ages, and health history will require the applicant to wait until after COVID-19.

Even so, education can take place now while you are at home.  We can look at your heath history and what insurance you are considering and then advise when application can take place.

Baygroup Insurance has over 40 years of combined experience in the Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi), life, disability, and health insurance markets.  Baygroup Insurance is a brokerage, which means they offer a selection of top insurance carriers to choose from.  They have sold over xxx LTCi policies. Their track record on service and follow-through are second to none.  LINK TO TESTIMONIALS.   Baygroup Insurance makes educating prospective clients a priority so that they can make an informed decision when purchasing insurance products for themselves and their families.  

Within the group, Melissa Barnickel is a CPA as well as having a CLTC (Certified in Long-Term Care) designation.  With her financial background she is able to pick up where many agents leave off.  Her overall accounting knowledge helps clients feel comfortable with their financial decisions.  When prospective clients leave a meeting with Melissa, they have a better understanding of what LTCi is and how it provides the funding for a long-term care plan.  Melissa also educates and assists her clients with their health, disability, and life insurance needs to meet their financial goals. 

Ed Hutman has a CLTC designation.  Ed has a knack that allows people to truly understand the impact of not planning for a long-term care event and the details and options offered with LTCi. Ed has knowledge and experience with groups that have offered LTCi to their employees as a benefit option.  When working with Ed, employers and individuals gain an understanding of how LTCi will benefit them.  Ed also helps employers and individuals gain understanding about health, disability, and life insurance products.

Insurance provides the cash flow to pay for professionals to provide care in a variety of settings. Family members maintain their emotional and physical wellbeing by supervising the care rather than providing the care.  Retirement income can continue to fund the lifestyle planned, as opposed to setting aside funds, "just in case" an extended care event takes place.  Insurance also preserves financial commitments to family members.  

Most people should have disability insurance.  It is not fun to think about what might happen if your paycheck stopped.  Disability insurance provides income protection for you should you become unable to work due to a disability.

Many experts recommend that you should choose disability coverage that can replace 60-80% of your after tax income, although this is an individual’s decision.

To estimate how much disability insurance you will need, consider how much money you would need to cover your monthly living expenses.  Consider how your work, medical, education, and personal expenses would be affected by a disability.

If you are still having trouble estimating the amount of coverage you would need, you could try using this Disability Needs Calculator from MetLife or contact us and we can help you get started.

Group insurance plans through an employer can provide needed coverage. An individual needs to know if the plan covers illness and injury, for how much and for what period of time. Some group policies provide coverage only if injured on the job and only for a short period of time. Some employers provide no group coverage at all. Many individuals have multiple policies that cover long term disabilities.

Check with your employer or human resources department to get the details of the group disability insurance coverage.  Find out how disability is defined in the plan,  how long the plan would pay you benefits if you became disabled and what income is covered (salary, bonus, overtime...)  Some group plans provide coverage for a short time, or for on-the-job injuries.  Once you know the details of your group coverage, contact us and we can help you determine whether you need individual disability insurance and how much.

The definition of disability may vary from policy to policy.  The definition in the policy that you choose is extremely important because it determines under what circumstances you will be eligible to receive your benefit.  At BayGroup insurance, we have access to many different disability insurance policies.  As we shop for your policy we will look at the way disability is defined and help you to understand the policy.

Long term care insurance (LTCi) and disability insurance (DI) both help you protect your assets, but they serve different purposes.

Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income lost due to an inability to perform your job.  The qualifying disability may be job or task specific (unable to perform your particular job) or general (unable to perform any job).

Long term care insurance pays for a portion or all of the costs of caregiving needed due to physical or cognitive disability. LTCI will reimburse costs for care received at home or at assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. Policies may have a provision that a stipulated amount will be paid for any day that qualified care is required (Indemnity) or for any month during which qualified care is received (Cash).

Social Security Disability is payable only for a total disability that is expected to last for at least a year or result in death.  The definition is more stringent than individual or group disability policies, you cannot do the work you previously did and cannot adjust to other work because of a medical condition.  For more details, visit this page.

Don’t count yourself out.  While you may not receive a “preferred health” rating, many people with existing health conditions are able to obtain policies, with some exclusions.  BayGroup insurance will shop for a policy that is best for you.

Any occupation pays your benefits if you cannot work any occupation for your level of education and training.  For example, if you were a teacher and can no longer work in a classroom, but you can mentor other teachers, you would not receive benefits.

Some policies are own-occupation for a period of years, at which point they convert to any-occupation.

Own-occupation is a sought-after feature in a disability policy.  This type of policy will pay benefits if you cannot work in the field you were working in prior to the disability.  If you have to find work in a different field due to the disability, you would earn income from that job, and continue to collect disability benefits.

The cost of your disability insurance will be affected by many factors.  These factors include the elimination and benefit periods, your age, your occupational class, your gender, where you live, your health conditions, benefit amount, the coverage options you select and the amount of coverage you select.  It is safe to say that you could expect to pay around 1-3% of your annual income for disability insurance.  As a broker of disability insurance, BayGroup can shop for a policy that meets your needs and will present you several disability insurance quotes to choose from.

Many factors go into determining your health rating.  To get a preferred health rating, you must be in excellent overall health.  Your weight, height, cholesterol level, and blood pressure will be taken into consideration.  Nonsmokers will receive a higher rating than those who use tabacco.  In addition, your personal and family health history will be considered.