Best Individual Long Term Disability Insurance

Just do a google search for chances of being disabled before retirement and you will find that most statistics point to at least a 20-25% chance of you being disabled for at least a year by the time you retire. In fact, depending on your age, you have a greater chance of being disabled than dying before retirement. But 60% of Americans on average have life insurance, compared with only around 40% of Americans with disability insurance. The good news is, if you are in specific occupational classes, you can qualify for individual long term disability insurance.

What is Long Term Disability Insurance?

Our definition of Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD) is based on an individual policy and not group long-term disability insurance.

We would define long term disability insurance as a contract between the insured and the insurer that provides tax-free income to the beneficiary if the insured is too hurt or sick to work at their regular job for a prolonged period.

Long Term Disability Insurance Quotes

For those of you who are wondering what private long term disability insurance costs, just know that TermLife2Go’s insurance agents work with many of the best long term disability insurance companies in the marketplace. Due to the various benefits inherent in each policy it is important to tailor each policy to your specific needs and objectives. If you are interested in long term disability insurance quotes please give us a call today or send us your information and we will be happy to run different quotes for you based on your parameters, balancing the benefits and features of the LTD policy with your budget.

How Does Long Term Disability Insurance Work?

Please note that this article is focused on INDIVIDUAL long term disability insurance, not group. Although there are many similarities, our focus and the information provided is geared to individual disability insurance.

There are two primary types of disability insurance: short term disability insurance (STD) and long term disability insurance (LTD). If you are disabled due to an accident or sickness, you will need to file a claim with your disability insurance company.

Short-term disability insurance

Once you file a claim, your short-term disability insurance provides a temporary income benefit from the insurance company that is triggered upon a qualifying disability from an accident or sickness to help get through the longer elimination period of long term disability insurance, assuming you have it.

Most private short term disability insurance policies can be designed to have a short elimination period lasting between 0 days for an accident, or longer elimination periods of 14, 30, 60, 90 up to 180 days, depending on your need and budget. Upon the end of the STD policy, your private long term disability insurance should kick in if you planned accordingly.

Long-term disability insurance

After you file a private disability insurance claim, your long-term disability income insurance policy will include an elimination period.

Elimination Period

The individual disability insurance elimination period is the amount of time that must pass before you start receiving your benefit from the insurance company. An elimination period on LTD insurance can be as short as 30 days, all the way out to 730 days, depending on the insurer and how you design your policy. You need to take into account how much you can pay for disability insurance premiums balanced with how long you can go without receiving an income stream.

Longer elimination periods can be buffered when they coincide with other insurances such as worker compensation benefits, state disability or other short term disability insurance policies.  For example, you may want to think about combining a 1-year short term disability policy with a long term disability policy with a 365 day elimination period.

Monthly Benefit

Upon the end of your LTD insurance elimination period the insurer will begin sending your monthly benefit amount to you, which you can use for whatever you need it for. Your benefit amount can vary but usually caps out around 50-60% of your typical monthly gross income. Since you paid for your policy using after-tax dollars, you will not be taxed on the monthly benefit amount you receive from the insurer. So, the 50-60% benefit is very close to your actual gross income before taxes.

Benefit Period

The disability benefit period will determine how long your monthly benefit amount will continue. Once again, you choose how long of a benefit period when applying for your disability insurance. Your choice on how long of a disability benefit period you want is based on the premium you are willing and able to pay and on the occupational class you qualify for. The benefit period on long term disability insurance can be 2 years, 5 years, 10 years or to age 67. Existing coverage can even last until age 75 if you are employed full time.

You will need to be aware of a few features of your long term disability insurance policy, such as how long it is guaranteed renewable, the type of occupation it covers and if it is non-cancelable.

Guaranteed Renewable vs Non-Cancelable

The guaranteed renewable provision in your policy lets you know how long you can keep LTD insurance going. For example, some LTD policies are guaranteed renewable to age 60. But upon age 60 the policy terminates and you will not have your LTD insurance in force any longer. Alternatively, some LTD policies provide guaranteed renewability to age 65, age 67, or even to age 75. And although the policy provides guaranteed renewability, your long term disability insurance rates can increase unless the policy is also non-cancelable.

Non-cancelable is a good benefit to include in your LTD policy because it provides you with the stability of locked in fixed premium payments for the duration of the policy. Further, the carrier cannot cancel the policy or reduce your policy benefits during the non-cancelable period. Depending on the insurer, the non-cancelable provision in your LTD policy is reserved for preferred classes of occupations, usually Class 6A to 4A. See our list of occupational classes below.

Any Occupation vs Own Occupation

Two additional key terms you need to be aware of when putting together your disability insurance plan are the terms any occupation vs own occupation. These terms determine the type of disability you have and if your will qualify for the LTD insurance benefit based upon factors such as your disability and current employment status.

A total disability definition under an Any Occupation or Any Gainful Occupation policy refers to your inability to work in any occupations that you are able, based on your education and skills. If you are disabled and unable to work you will receive your benefits. However, if you can still work, albeit not in the same occupation you previously had, you may not be eligible to receive disability insurance benefits, or only partial disability monthly benefits. Any occupation definition of disability is broader, and therefore it provides lower long term disability insurance premiums than the own occupation disability definition.

The definition of total disability under an True Own Occupation Policy refers to your inability to do the substantial and material duties of your own occupation due to either an accident or sickness, even if you only have a partial disability or residual disability, and are now working at another job. If you spent the last 8 years of your life getting qualified for your job through rigorous education, training and experience, the last thing you want is to be told you can simply get “another” job. So, own occupation allows you to receive your disability insurance benefits, even though you have a “new” job, but are unable to work in your previous occupation you just busted your butt to qualify for.

Proportionate Disability

Another thing to consider is if you can work under the any occupation disability definition or own-occupation disability definition, but it is for less money than you were making prior to your disability, the insurer will typically pay you a decreased proportional amount to help make you “whole” compared to where you were financially before the disability.

An example of a proportionate disability benefit in action would be if your income prior to your disability was $6,000 a month. Your total disability income benefit is 60% or $3,600 a month. But you can return to work, but only at 50% income levels prior to your disability. So, you would be making $3,000 a month at work. The residual disability benefit would kick in and pay the other 50% of your total disability income benefit, $3,600/2, or $1,800. Now you have $3,000 taxable income and another $1,800 tax free disability income benefit, assuming you paid your policy premiums with after tax dollars.

Presumptive Total Disability
Disability insurance companies will presume you are totally and permanently disabled if you suffer an an injury or sickness that results in your complete and irrecoverable loss of hearing, speech, sight or use of both hands, both feet or one hand and one foot.
For some companies, if your disability falls under the umbrella of presumptive total disability, the company may waive the elimination period and pay you the policy’s total disability benefits for the full length of the benefit period even if you return to work in another occupation.

Long Term Disability Insurance Pros and Cons

A lot of people who we speak to about LTD insurance wonder if long term disability insurance is worth it or they ask if do I need long term disability insurance coverage. Let’s look at the pros and cons to help you make your own decision on whether or not long term disability insurance is right for you-based on your unique needs and objectives.

The pros of long term disabilityminsurance are:
1) Income Replacement

The monthly benefit will provide income replacement so that you can pay your bills, such as other insurance, a mortgage, credit card debts, or whatever other monthly expenses you need to cover.

2) Tax Free

Your long term disability insurance benefit is income tax free. Since you paid for the policy premiums with after tax dollars, there is no associated tax on the benefit payout form the insurer.

3) Quality of Life

Your disability insurance coverage will provide a quality of life that you would otherwise lose if you did not have the policy. Consider how your life would look if your income suddenly stopped.

4) Asset Protection

And your disability insurance provides protection for your other assets, such as retirement accounts. If your income were to dry up tomorrow, apart from taping into your 401k or IRA, what other source of income would you have?

The cons of long term disability insurance are:

1) The policy is not free so you have to factor in the premiums you will need to pay into your budget. But consider this, if you could have a job that paid you $60,000 a year but if you are disabled you get nothing, or $58,500 a year, but if you are disabled you get $3,000 a month, which job would you choose?

So what does long term disability insurance cost?

There are many factors that go into how much your specific long term disability insurance cost will be. You can craft your policy to provide maximum protection or minimum premiums. You can also meet somewhere in the middle to help minimize your costs.

One of the primary factors that determines your cost will be your occupation. The lower the risk the lower your long term disability insurance rates. The higher your occupational risk, the more premium you will pay.

Another factor is your age. The younger you are, the lower your rates will be. That is why it is a good idea to get disability insurance while you are young.

Your current health and any pre-existing conditions also play a role in your long term disability insurance cost. The healthier you are, the lower your rate will be.

You can also choose a longer elimination period, which will lower your premiums. Also, choosing a smaller monthly benefit helps to reduce your costs. Finally, your benefit period can also be adjusted, providing you with a shorter benefit period in return for lower disability insurance rates.

Disability Income Insurance Riders

Own-Occupation Disability Definition Rider: You can extend the own occupation total disability definition from 2 years to the full length of the policy.

Automatic Benefit Increase (Enhancer) Rider: A featured no cost rider that will increase your monthly benefit after the first year of the insurance benefit has been paid for a period of 5 years or more, based on the specific disability insurance company’s options.

Guaranteed Insurability Rider: allows you to increase your disability policy coverage by purchasing additional amounts of coverage without requiring proof of insurability.

Return of Premium Benefit Rider: If you want disability insurance but would like something in return in case you are one of the lucky (blessed) people to not suffer a disability, you can get all or a portion of your premiums returned by policy lapse or cancellation, your death, or the end of the policy guaranteed renewability period.

Waiver of Premium Rider: When you are disabled the last thing you want to concern yourself with is making your disability insurance premium payment. The waiver of premium rider kicks in when you begin receiving your benefits, waiving your premium due during the benefit period.

Critical Illness Benefits Rider: If you are diagnosed with a qualifying disease, the insurance company will pay you up to $25,000 in a lump-sum benefit.
Hospital Confinement Indemnity Benefits Rider: If you are confined in a hospital you can receive up to $500 for each day. And if you are in intensive care the benefit amount doubles.

Group Long Term Disability Insurance

If you have long term disability insurance through your employer you should be aware of some potential negatives. Although it is great to have some coverage in place, there are important benefits of supplemental disability income insurance that you own and control.
Group LTD insurance Considerations
1. Lower cost since your employers pays the premiums
2. Is it portable? I.e. can you take the policy with you when you leave your employer?
3. If you employer pays the premiums, your disability income benefit will be taxed.
4. Often the definition of total disability is broadly construed, leaving it open to interpretation and forcing you to get any job, rather than the occupation you specialize in.
5. Do you know how long your group disability income insurance policy benefit period will last? If a disability lasts more than 90 days, the total disability duration will average between 2-4 years.

Who Should Get Long Term Disability Insurance?

Anyone who is gainfully employed, either as an employee of a company or a business owner. If you earn income, and if a disability would cause that income to be in jeopardy, you should consider long term disability insurance.

Consider your own lifestyle. Maybe you do not have a dangerous or hazard occupation but you engage in a lifestyle that has the potential to bring about a disability. Maybe you engage in dangerous hobbies, or you simply enjoy taking a trip to the mountains for an annual ski retreat; be aware that the more active your lifestyle, the higher your risk of suffering a debilitating injury.

For businesses, you should consider key person disability insurance in addition to key person life insurance. If a key employee is disabled, the key person disability insurance will provide the needed cash influx to support your business while you work to find a replacement or give your key employee time to rehabilitate.

For business owners, particularly where there is more than one owner, a buy sell agreement with life insurance and disability insurance will provide protection for both death and disability of a business owner.

Different Occupation Classes

There are different occupational classes available. The higher the occupation class the lower the risk (and the disability insurance premium rate). Depending on the company, the Occupational Classes range from 6A to Class 1A (with various nuances) to even Class N or B or 2 or whatever other letter or number that particular insurer decided to use to denote uninsurable risks. The classes generally focus on how hazardous the work is and how hard it would be to return to work.

Class 6A

This is the top class and is for “stable” executives in an office who don’t travel much, if at all; who don’t work in a hazardous environment; and who don’t supervise people that have manually responsibilities, i.e. you are not around laborers in a potential dangerous environment. Some examples of occupations with a Class 6A rating would be CPAs, Business Executives, Registered Pharmacist, Attorney, etc.

Class 5A

For many of the best long term disability insurance companies, there is no real distinction between Class 6A and Class 5A. As best as we can explain, the primary difference would be which occupation is “safest” would be Class 6A and the step below would be Class 5A. When shopping disability insurance quotes, there does not appear to be a big difference in premiums between the two classes. Some examples of occupations that would fall into the disability insurance Class 5A would be Real Estate Brokers, College Deans or Professors, Newspaper Columnists, Small Animal Veterinarians, etc.

Class 4A

The Class 4A occupational underwriting criteria would be focused on professionals and certain white collar occupations such as Large Animal Veterinarians, Advertising Account Executives, Ministers/Pastors/Rabbis, Disc Jockeys, Nurse Practitioners, etc.

Class 3A

This class is represented by occupations with minimal environmental hazards consisting of professionals and managers, such as Acupuncturists, General Managers, Athletic Directors, Banking Cashier, Dentist, Surgeon, etc.

Class 2A

Class 2A is geared towards occupations that may require moderate travel or manual dexterity or light physical exertion. Occupations in Class 2A include Barbers, Butchers, Golf or Tennis Pros, Dental Hygienist, etc.

Class 1A

Occupations in Class 1A are going to require more physical exertion and be in more direct contact with hazardous environments. Occupations may include Carpenters, Driving School Instructors, Hairdressers, Zoo Workers, Painters, etc.

Long Term Disability Insurance Uninsurable Occupations

Uninsurable occupations would include jobs that involve hazardous work conditions or that have lower job stability. If you need disability insurance for self employed occupations, please give us a call today to see what we can offer you.

Some examples would be:
  • Actors,
  • Crop Dusters,
  • Divers,
  • Day Traders,
  • Flight Attendants,
  • Homemakers,
  • Roofers.

Alternatives to Long Term Disability Insurance


If you have a lot of funds stashed away for a rainy day you can always self-insure. But you can probably see the problem with that already. If you don’t have some sort of passive income set up in advance of your disability, your assets will dry up fast.

Family and Friends

You can always ask family and friends for help. However, your friends may no longer be friends after you have hit them up for the third month in a row and you might be wondering why your family never answers the phone anymore.


Maybe your disability is severe enough that you can squeeze into the parameters required to receive social security disability insurance (SSDI). However, the average monthly benefit from SSDI is around $1,200 a month so it will certainly not get you very far.

Long-term care insurance

Long-term care insurance is valuable to have, whether your chose it in conjunction with or as an alternative to, disability insurance. However, just know they are not the same thing. Long-term care insurance provides a monthly benefit t you are unable to perform 2 of the 6 Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s). The 6 ADL’s are Continence, Bathing, Eating, Dressing, Toileting, and Transferring (getting around). Cognitive disability is an additional qualifying event that triggers a long term care rider. It is meant to provide money to you if you are in a nursing home, in home care, or in an assisted living facility.

Should I combine my disability insurance with my life insurance policy?

Some companies offer disability income insurance riders that you can attach to term life insurance or permanent life insurance. The key would be whether or not the disability income rider fits your specific requirements. If you don’t have a life insurance policy in place, then it makes sense to shop life insurance with and without the disability income insurance coverage to see if a combined life insurance and disability insurance policy is best, or if you would be better off with a separate individual disability insurance policy.

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