Disability Insurance in recent times has found many takers in the market. Before we highlight the various factors to be taken into consideration while availing of disability insurance we first need to understand what the insurance policies under the category of disability insurance actually entail? Disability Insurance is a kind of insurance in which the person availing of the policy becomes a valid candidate for receiving a stipulated income in the event of sickness or injury which prevents him or her from working and earning as per the usual standards. The basic purpose of availing of disability insurance is that it helps to protect the person and their family against financial ruin in the event of aforementioned circumstances by providing them with an income to manage the daily expenses.

Disability Insurance policies come in two forms. In the first category, the employer, be it an individual in the case of a private business or the government, is required to pay the costs of the policy. These sponsorship programs are applicable to certain categories of employees and the recipient is not required to pay any charges of any kind. In the second category, the insurance is taken out by an individual and hence the premiums are to be paid for by the individual, as is the case with all private policies. This category of disability insurance comes into play when there is a lack of any employer-sponsored insurance policy or when the existing program policies are not sufficient to meet the daily expenses of the individual. If you decide that you are in need of availing of a disability insurance policy there are several factors that you need to keep in mind.

It is important to be aware of the situations covered by various policies as the definition of disability as proposed by different organizations can vary vastly. Some disability insurance policies only apply to situations in which the bearer is not able to carry out the standard expectations of his or her habitual form of occupation. Other policies are valid only in cases when the employment does not serve any gains to the individual. Hence, before availing of any policy you should be well aware of what it entails as a part of its characteristics. Another aspect to consider is the fact that several policies do not cover cases of partial disability. They require the person to be fully disabled before being valid to avail of the income provided by the policy. Most of the older disability insurance policies work on this principle. In some cases, the event of partial disability is accepted only if it is confirmed that the period of partial disability is going to be followed by absolute disability.

There are a few policies that also provide for times of partial disability and hence it is important to be aware of the various options available on the basis of your needs. There is also the option of availing of Residual Benefits in some cases when the person is capable of working but the income is reduced in amount as the person is not able to carry out all of his or her job requirements. In such cases a partial income is provided to supplement the existing earned income. This is provided on the basis of the amount of income reduced and does not require a scenario of total disability. For people who suffer from handicaps due to loss of sight, speech, hearing etc but are still able to perform their duties completely, the concept of presumptive disability is applicable. Even though the individual might be entirely efficient and capable he or she is assumed to be completely disabled. In such cases, the person can avail of complete insurance remuneration, under definite conditions of handicap.