Short-Term Disability Insurance

Injuries and illnesses can happen to anyone. When these incidents are not related to your job in any way, without the right income protection insurance, you could be stuck without any income to help cover your medical expenses and daily costs. Fortunately, short-term disability insurance can help you stay afloat.

An independent insurance agent can help you find the best short-term disability insurance policy. They have access to multiple carriers, so they can shop and compare short-term disability insurance quotes and options for you. But first, you can use our guide to learn everything you need to know about short-term disability insurance and what it covers.

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance?

Short-term disability insurance plans pay a portion of your income if you become temporarily injured or ill and are unable to work. It typically pays between 40% and 70% of your salary. Short-term disability insurance coverage periods can range from days to a year, with the most common policies offering coverage for three to six months. 

Short-term disability benefits can often be greater than long-term disability benefits in terms of the percentage of your income they replace. In contrast, long-term disability benefits cover you for greater periods, such as years, decades, or until you retire.

What Does Short-Term Disability Insurance Cover? 

Short-term disability insurance policies can provide income replacement for many different injuries or illnesses that aren't caused by work duties or the job environment. These can include:

• Pregnancy and birth: Maternity leave or complications arising from pregnancy or birth are often covered by short-term disability. 
• Injuries: Many non-work-related injuries that leave you unable to perform your regular work duties, such as broken bones, can be covered by short-term disability.
• Musculoskeletal injuries: Pain or injuries in the musculoskeletal region of your body, such as sprains, strains, and fractures, can be covered by short-term disability.
• Cancer or other diseases: Some types of cancer, disease, and other illnesses are covered by short-term disability.

An independent insurance agent can help you determine if your injury, illness, or disease is covered by a short-term disability policy.

Short-Term Disability Insurance for Employees

You may be able to get group short-term disability insurance through your employer. While individual disability insurance typically provides several compensation sources, group disability insurance is tied to your base salary, or W-2 income. 

Further, group short-term disability insurance benefits usually don't factor in bonuses, commissions, incentives, and retirement plan contributions, whereas individual short-term disability insurance often does.

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How Much Does Short-Term Disability Insurance Cost?

The cost of individual short-term disability insurance is determined by your health risk factors as an individual, your age when applying, and the amount of coverage you select. Group short-term disability insurance is a bit different in that insurance carriers typically do not require individual health exams when setting premiums. Carriers base their rates on the entire group. 

Price points vary, no matter what type of short-term disability insurance you choose. However, short-term disability policy costs can often be significantly less expensive than long-term disability insurance. An independent insurance agent can help you find affordable short-term disability insurance policies near you.

Here's How an Independent Insurance Agent Can Help

When you're ready to buy short-term disability insurance, no one's better equipped to help than a local independent insurance agent. These agents have access to multiple insurance companies, so they're free to shop and compare short-term disability insurance quotes and policy options for you. And down the road, your agent can help you file disability claims and update your coverage when necessary.