Disability insurance replaces part of your income while you can't work — available to people age 60 and under. Critical illness insurance pays a lump sum when you're diagnosed with something serious. Together, they cover the gaps that life insurance and health insurance leave behind.
Most people plan for what happens if they die. Far fewer plan for what happens if they live but can't work — even though that scenario is statistically more common during your working years. According to Social Security data, roughly one in four 20-year-olds will face a disability lasting more than a year before they reach retirement age.
Health insurance pays your medical providers. Life insurance pays your family if you pass. Neither one replaces your paycheck during a long recovery, and neither one cuts you a check the day you're diagnosed with cancer. That's the gap disability and critical illness coverage are designed to fill.
Two products, one purpose: both protect your income from the financial impact of a serious health event. They work in different ways and they're often most useful together — one as a slow drip of replacement income, the other as a lump sum the moment you need it most.
The two products solve different parts of the same problem. Critical illness coverage gives you cash on day one — useful for the immediate avalanche of costs (deductibles, household help, travel for treatment, getting ahead on the mortgage). Disability coverage replaces lost income over the months or years it takes to recover.
For someone who's the primary earner in their household, having both is usually the right answer. The lump sum buys you breathing room in the first weeks. The monthly benefit keeps the bills paid through what may be a long recovery. Neither one fully replaces what life would have been before the diagnosis — but together, they take the financial scramble off the table so you can focus on getting better.
Some people get partial coverage through work. Most don't get enough. We'll look at what you actually have and what the gap looks like.
If your household depends on your income, the financial impact of a long recovery falls hardest on you. These products are the answer.
No employer means no group disability or sick leave. Building your own income protection is on you, and it's important.
Group coverage is often capped, ends with the job, and pays a smaller percentage than people realize. A supplemental personal policy fills the gap.
Heart disease, stroke, cancer in close family — if these are realistic risks for you, critical illness coverage takes the financial worry off the table early.
If your savings wouldn't cover six months without income, disability insurance is the bridge. Most people don't have enough to weather a long recovery alone.
Your 40s and 50s are when serious health events become statistically more likely. Locking in coverage while you're still healthy is much cheaper than trying after a diagnosis.
Most people don't know the details of their group disability coverage at work, or what their existing policies actually cover. We start by understanding what's already in place — and where the real gaps are.
Disability and critical illness underwriting varies dramatically between carriers. Different companies are strong in different areas — occupation class, health history, age. With access to many carriers, I can find the right fit for each piece, rather than forcing both into one company.
I'll bring you 2 or 3 options for each product, at different benefit amounts and waiting periods. You see how the cost changes with each choice and pick what fits your budget. No pressure, no obligation.
Tell me about your situation — what coverage you have at work, what you're worried about, what would actually happen if you couldn't work for six months. We'll talk through real options on a quick call — no pressure, no obligation.