Disability insurance

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Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, or income protection, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability creates a barrier for completion of core work functions. For example, the worker may be unable to maintain composure in the case of psychological disorders or sustain an injury, illness or condition that causes physical impairment or incapacity to work. DI encompasses paid sick leave, short-term disability benefits (STD), and long-term disability benefits (LTD). [1] [2] The same concept is instantiated in some countries as income protection insurance.

Contents

History

The Railway Passengers Assurance Company was founded in 1848 as the first company to provide accident insurance. Railway Passengers Assurance Company header.jpg
The Railway Passengers Assurance Company was founded in 1848 as the first company to provide accident insurance.

In the late 19th century, modern disability insurance began to become available. It was originally known as "accident insurance". [3] [4] The first company to offer accident insurance was the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, formed in 1848 in England to insure against the rising number of fatalities on the nascent railway system. It was registered as the Universal Casualty Compensation Company to:

...grant assurances on the lives of persons traveling by railway and to grant, in cases, of accident not having a fatal termination, compensation to the assured for injuries received under certain conditions.

The company was able to reach an agreement with the railway companies, whereby basic accident insurance would be sold as a package deal along with travel tickets to customers. The company charged higher premiums for second and third class travel due to the higher risk of injury in the roofless carriages. [5] [6]

Individual disability insurance

Those whose employers do not provide benefits, and self-employed individuals who desire disability coverage, may purchase policies themselves. Premiums and available benefits for individual coverage vary considerably between companies, occupations, states and countries. In general, premiums are higher for policies that provide more monthly benefits, offer benefits for longer periods of time, and start payments of benefits more quickly following a disability claim. Premiums also tend to be higher for policies that define disability in broader terms, meaning the policy would pay benefits in a wider variety of circumstances . Web-based disability insurance calculators assist in determining the disability insurance needed. [7]

High-limit disability insurance

High-limit disability insurance is designed to keep individual disability benefits at 65% of income regardless of income level. Coverage is typically issued supplemental to standard coverage. With high-limit disability insurance, benefits can be anywhere from an additional $2,000 to $100,000 per month. Single policy issue and participation (individual or group long-term disability) coverage has gone up to $30,000 with some hospitals.

Business overhead expense disability insurance

Business Overhead Expense (BOE) coverage reimburses a business for overhead expenses should the owner experience a disability. Eligible benefits include: rent or mortgage payments, utilities, leasing costs, laundry/maintenance, accounting/billing and collection service fees, business insurance premiums, employee salaries, employee benefits, property tax, and other regular monthly expenses.

National social insurance programs

In most developed countries, the single most important form of disability insurance is that provided by the national government for all citizens. For example, the United Kingdom's version is part of National Insurance; the United States' version is Social Security (SS): specifically, several parts of SS including Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). These programs provide a floor beneath all other disability insurance. In other words, they are the safety net that catches everyone who was otherwise (a) uninsured or (b) underinsured. As such, they are large programs with many beneficiaries. The general theory of the benefit formula is that the benefit is enough to prevent abject poverty. [8]

Employer-supplied disability insurance

One of the most common reasons for disability is on-the-job injury, which explains why the second largest form of disability insurance is that provided by employers to cover their employees. There are several subtypes that may or may not be separate parts of the benefits package: workers' compensation and more general disability insurance policies.

Workers' compensation

Workers' compensation (also known by variations of that name, e.g., workman's comp, workmen's comp, worker's comp, compo) offers payments to employees who are (usually temporarily, rarely permanently) unable to work because of a job-related injury. However, workers' compensation is in fact more than just income insurance, because it compensates for economic loss (past and future), reimbursement or payment of medical and life expenses (functioning in this case as a form of health insurance), and benefits payable to the dependents of workers killed during employment (offering a form of life insurance). Workers compensation provides no coverage to those not working. Statistics have shown that most disabilities occur while the injured person is not working and therefore not covered by workers' compensation. [9]

Newsweek magazine's cover story for March 5, 2007 discussed the problems that American veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq wars have faced in receiving VA benefits. The article describes one veteran who waited 17 months to start receiving payments. Another article, in The New York Times , points out that besides long waits, there is also variation based on the veteran's state of residence and whether he/she is a veteran of the Army, National Guard, or Reserves. [10] The Newsweek article says that it can be difficult for a veteran to get his or her claim approved; Newsweek described the benefits thus:

"A veteran with a disability rating of 100 percent gets about $2,400 a month—more if he or she has children. A 50 percent rating brings in around $700 a month. But for many returning servicemen burdened with wounds, it is, initially at least, their sole income." [11]

The 2007 figures cited above correspond in 2012 to $2,673 a month (more with children) and, for the 50% rating, $797 a month for a single veteran.

According to a sidebar in the same Newsweek article, [12] the Americans injured in these wars, for all the obstacles to proper care, will probably receive much better compensation and health care than equally injured Afghan or Iraqi soldiers .

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insurance</span> Equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another in exchange for payment

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' compensation</span> Form of insurance

Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence. The trade-off between assured, limited coverage and lack of recourse outside the worker compensation system is known as "the compensation bargain.” One of the problems that the compensation bargain solved is the problem of employers becoming insolvent as a result of high damage awards. The system of collective liability was created to prevent that and thus to ensure security of compensation to the workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life insurance</span> Type of contract

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policyholder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses.

Health insurance or medical insurance is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among many individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health risk and health system expenses over the risk pool, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to provide the money to pay for the health care benefits specified in the insurance agreement. The benefit is administered by a central organization, such as a government agency, private business, or not-for-profit entity.

A professional employer organisation (PEO) is an outsourcing firm that provides services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Typically, the PEO offering may include human resource consulting, safety and risk mitigation services, payroll processing, employer payroll tax filing, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, employers' practice and liability insurance (EPLI), retirement vehicles, regulatory compliance assistance, workforce management technology, and training and development. The PEO enters into a contractual co-employment agreement with its clientele. Through co-employment, the PEO becomes the employer of record (EoR) for tax purposes through filing payroll taxes under its own tax identification numbers. As the legal employer, the PEO is responsible for withholding proper taxes, paying unemployment insurance taxes and providing workers’ compensation coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social insurance</span> Government-sponsored social program

Social insurance is a form of social welfare that provides insurance against economic risks. The insurance may be provided publicly or through the subsidizing of private insurance. In contrast to other forms of social assistance, individuals' claims are partly dependent on their contributions, which can be considered insurance premiums to create a common fund out of which the individuals are then paid benefits in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veterans Benefits Administration</span> Component of U.S. Department Veterans Affairs

The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is responsible for administering the department's programs that provide financial and other forms of assistance to veterans, their dependents, and survivors. Major benefits include Veterans' compensation, Veterans' pension, survivors' benefits, rehabilitation and employment assistance, education assistance, home loan guaranties, and life insurance coverage.

Social welfare, assistance for the ill or otherwise disabled and the old, has long been provided in Japan by both the government and private companies. Beginning in the 1920s, the Japanese government enacted a series of welfare programs, based mainly on European models, to provide medical care and financial support. During the post-war period, a comprehensive system of social security was gradually established.

Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll tax-funded federal insurance program of the United States government. It is managed by the Social Security Administration and designed to provide monthly benefits to people who have a medically determinable disability that restricts their ability to be employed. SSDI does not provide partial or temporary benefits but rather pays only full benefits and only pays benefits in cases in which the disability is "expected to last at least one year or result in death." Relative to disability programs in other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the SSDI program in the United States has strict requirements regarding eligibility.

The New York Disability Benefits Law (DBL) is article 9 of the Workers' Compensation Law and creates a state disability insurance program designed to provide employees with some level of income replacement in case of disability caused off-the-job.

Business overhead expense (BOE) disability insurance, also known as Business Expense Insurance, pays the insured's business overhead expenses if he or she becomes disabled. A BOE policy pays a monthly benefit based on actual expenses, not anticipated profits. It is designed for businesses that rely on a small number of people to produce revenue.

Australia's insurance market can be divided into roughly three components: life insurance, general insurance and health insurance. These markets are fairly distinct, with most larger insurers focusing on only one type, although in recent times several of these companies have broadened their scope into more general financial services, and have faced competition from banks and subsidiaries of foreign financial conglomerates. With services such as disability insurance, income protection and even funeral insurance, these insurance giants are stepping in to fill the gap where people may have otherwise been in need of a personal or signature loan from their financial institution.

In the United States, health insurance helps pay for medical expenses through privately purchased insurance, social insurance, or a social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage", "health care coverage", and "health benefits". In a more technical sense, the term "health insurance" is used to describe any form of insurance providing protection against the costs of medical services. This usage includes both private insurance programs and social insurance programs such as Medicare, which pools resources and spreads the financial risk associated with major medical expenses across the entire population to protect everyone, as well as social welfare programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which both provide assistance to people who cannot afford health coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social security in France</span> Overview of social security in France

Social security is divided by the French government into five branches: illness; old age/retirement; family; work accident; and occupational disease. From an institutional point of view, French social security is made up of diverse organismes. The system is divided into three main Regimes: the General Regime, the Farm Regime, and the Self-employed Regime. In addition there are numerous special regimes dating from prior to the creation of the state system in the mid-to-late 1940s.

German Statutory Accident Insurance or workers' compensation is among the oldest branches of German social insurance. Occupational accident insurance was established in Germany by statute in 1884. It is now a national, compulsory program that insures workers for injuries or illness incurred through their employment, or the commute to or from their employment. Wage earners, apprentices, family helpers and students including children in kindergarten are covered by this program. Almost all self-employed persons can voluntarily become insured. The German workers' compensation laws were the first of their kind.

Welfare in France includes all systems whose purpose is to protect people against the financial consequences of social risks.

Disability benefits are a form of financial assistance designed to support individuals who are unable to work due to a chronic illness, disease or injury. Disability benefits are typically provided through various sources, including government programs, group disability insurance provided by employers or associations or private insurance policies typically purchased through a licensed insurance agent or broker, or directly from an insurance company.

Workers' accident compensation insurance is a government insurance program in Japan. It pays benefits to workers if the insured worker suffers injury, illness, or death due to circumstances related to his or her work related duties or commuting. The workers' accident compensation insurance system is also involved in social welfare projects for workers, such as promoting the restoration of workers who have suffered injury or illness to a full role in society. It is paired with unemployment insurance and referred to collectively as labour insurance. Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance is managed by the Labour Standards Office.

The social security in Switzerland includes several public and private insurance plans to assist the welfare of the population.

Workers' compensation in the United States is a primarily state-based system of workers' compensation.

References

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  2. "BLS Information". Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  3. "How Health Insurance Works". Howstuffworks. February 4, 2006.
  4. "Health Insurance". Encarta. Archived from the original on July 17, 2009.
  5. "Railway Passengers Assurance Company Ltd". Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  6. A. P. Woodward (March 1917). "The Disability Insurance Policy". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 70 (1): 227–237. doi:10.1177/000271621707000116. S2CID   144345819.
  7. "LIFE Foundation | Disability Insurance Needs Calculator". Lifehappens.org. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  8. Ball, Phoebe; Morris, Michael; Hartnette, Johnette; Blanck, Peter (December 15, 2006). "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Asset Accumulation by People with Disabilities". Disability Studies Quarterly. 26 (1). doi: 10.18061/dsq.v26i1.652 . ISSN   2159-8371.
  9. "Common Causes of Disability; Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Arthritis and Lifestyle Choices". Disabilitycanhappen.org. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  10. Urbina, Ian; Ron Nixon (March 9, 2007). "Veterans Face Vast Inequities Over Disability". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
  11. Ephron, D; Childress, S (March 5, 2007). "Forgotten Heroes". Newsweek. Vol. 149, no. 10. pp. 28–37. ISSN   0028-9604. PMID   17380811. Archived from the original on February 27, 2007.
  12. Dehghanpisheh, B (March 5, 2007). "Untreated Wounds". Newsweek. 149 (10): 34. ISSN   0028-9604. PMID   17380812. Archived from the original on March 2, 2007.