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Disability Insurance Plans Following a Divorce, Part II

Posted on: Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

In the last post we started to talk about how divorce can put many, many things on our plates. There are, of course, the emotional ramifications of a marriage ending. But there are also the more “administrative” concerns when a marriage ends. When you share money and property with someone there is of course the process that must be gone through in order to separate ownership.

In the last post I began to talk about my divorce and how the ending of my marriage brought with it things that I had never considered. Sure we had to deal with the ownership of our home, vehicles, and bank accounts, but I also had to consider those insurance policies that I had essentially taken for granted. We both had life insurance in place so the only thing I had to change on my life insurance policy was the beneficiary. But I did not have disability insurance – something that my ex-husband had in place so that if he was hurt or ill and unable to return to work we would be financially protected.

But now that I am on my own I had to consider disability insurance for myself. Who would protect me or my lifestyle if I suddenly found myself injured in an accident or ill for a long period of time? I needed to step up to the plate and begin exploringdisability insurance plans so that I could have peace of mind that I would be protected – and my finances would be protected – no matter what.

Disability insurance turned out to be easier to find than I thought. I worked with a solid professional who was able to walk me through the many disability insurance plans to find something that worked for my situation, so that I could begin the process of getting back on my feet.

Long Term Disability Even Now

Posted on: Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

We, as a nation, are going through a difficult time at the moment and many, many people and businesses are looking for any which way they can to cut down their expenses. With economic considerations foremost in our minds, we are hard pressed to be convinced that we need to put any more money out of pocket no matter what the purpose. In fact, some people – in a state of panic about what the future holds – are pulling their money from investments, canceling insurance policies, and essentially hunkering down with their cash in hand.

The problem with this scenario is two-fold. For one, pulling money out of investments only serves to further damage the market and you are not giving your accounts the opportunity to experience the upturn; essentially taking a financial hit you don’t need to take if you just wait it out a bit. Secondly, canceling insurance policies puts you in a much more financially vulnerable position than you were when you started.

Disability insurance, for instance, is something that many people think is optional and always the first thing that people think of when they think of cutting down on the money they spend on premiums. But it can be disastrous to not have disability insurance; in fact, it is tantamount to canceling your life insurance policy. Could you imagine the financial situation your family would be if you or your spouse were to pass away with no life insurance in place?

Now imagine a scenario – a much more likely scenario than death by the way – in which you or your spouse becomes ill or injured and are unable to continue earning a salary at work. With no disability insurance in place, your family could easily be facing a financial nightmare.

There are many ways to cut down expenses during this difficult time but cancelingdisability insurance is not one of them. Protect your family in the long term by keeping protective measures in place.

Disability Insurance Plans Following a Divorce, Part I

Posted on: Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

No one expects to get married and then one day see the marriage end. What we expect is to commit ourselves to another person and have it remain that way throughout the entirety of our lives. Unfortunately, as the statistics clearly show, marriages end every day. And more than just the emotional ramifications that are associated with such situations is the logistical ramifications. The fact of the matter is that when you marry someone you are essentially tying your life to theirs and there are bank accounts that are shared, insurance that is taken out, houses and businesses that are in both names, and so forth.

So when a marriage ends all of these things must be considered. Things are separated including bank accounts, deeds to homes, and the like. And, consequently we need to examine those policies that we may have had together and reassess them in terms of having single policies. There’s a lot of paperwork and administrative concerns that must be addressed when it comes to divorce – over and above the emotional drama that always ensues. It’s a lot for anyone to have on their plate.

When I got divorced I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the number of things that I had to do when all I really wanted to do was go to bed. Things that I never gave much thought to – if ever – were suddenly needing attention, requiring me to make decisions. It was exhausting.

One of the things that I never even realized we had was disability insurance. Of course, now that I look at it closely it makes perfect sense that my ex-husband had a disability insurance policy in place. He was the larger earner in the household; if something happened to him we would be without his paycheck. While his life insurance policy covered us if he were to pass away, disability insurance covered us if a sickness or injury stopped him from earning a paycheck.

More in the next post about how I got through my divorce and put my own separate things in place including disability insurance.

Disability Income Insurance: Preparing for the Unexpected

Posted on: Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Obviously we know things happen in life; but that doesn’t mean that we are in any way prepared when disastrous things happen in our own lives. There are those who predicted the disastrous state of the economy that we are currently experiencing but that doesn’t make it any easier for those of us who are now struggling with our own finances because of the economic state.

We understand that accidents happen and illnesses befall people on a daily basis but when it happens in our own families most of us are woefully unprepared; and not just in an emotional respect. Far too few of us have put measures into place to financially protect ourselves and our families if we are unable to return to work because of an illness or injury. Disability income insurance puts protective measures in place so that in the event that such a scenario plays out, money is the last thing with which anybody has to concern themselves.

If you were to be hurt in an accident tomorrow or suffer an illness that meant a temporary – or even permanent – separation from your job, consider how you would pay for the following without comprehensive disability income insurance in place:

• Mortgage or rent. This is the biggest chunk of money that comes from earners’ paychecks on a monthly basis. Without a paycheck coming, mortgage payments or rental payments can begin to lapse very quickly. Even with savings or investments put away you will find that the average family goes through these financial nest eggs very quickly, leaving savings depleted and housing payments still lagging behind.

• Utilities. In this day and age utility payments are often through the roof. With a missing paycheck, payments can quickly get out of control.

• Car payments. Most of us are paying some sort of car payment or lease payment. Consider how much of your monthly pay goes toward maintaining your vehicles.

• Debt. Paying credit cards or loans late simply work to increase your interest rates and service charges. What happens when you can’t even make the minimum payments?

• Living. From food to fuel, the cost of living increases every day. Without disability insurance, even the most fundamental necessities can be difficult to finance.

Disability Insurance Plans Make Sense in this Economy

Posted on: Monday, June 1st, 2009

The current economic crunch in this country has escaped no one’s attention. Most of us are glued to our televisions and our newspapers so that we may learn the latest that is being done to rescue the nation from this downslide. In businesses across the country this news is not news at all; they have been feeling the ramifications of the economy for some time. And for individual households the impact has been just as significant as we look for ways to stretch our dollar as far as they will go.

Now is most certainly not the time to be conservative with the protective financial layer we put in place for ourselves. Retirement accounts should not be touched – as scary as the market may seem – because the penalties for early withdrawal are severe; life insurance should be kept current to protect our families; and disability insurance plans should be thoroughly explored so that a change in our circumstances does not threaten to financially destroy us.

Most of us are barely making it by with our paychecks these days. Could you imagine a scenario where you didn’t have a paycheck at all? When someone becomes sick or injured and their subsequent disability prohibits them from returning to work (in the short term or even permanently) the loss of a paycheck can be devastating for a household that counts on every penny for its survival. With disability insurance, however, earners are essentially protecting their paycheck by putting measures into place that will payout if their paycheck is suddenly and unexpectedly taken from them due to a disability.

It may seem counterintuitive to take more money out of your pocket in this current economic climate. But in reality it is makes the most sense to protect your family through disability insurance – now, more than ever.