“One Thing I Should Have Done is Upgrade My Insurance”

Several years ago, I spoke with a lawyer who was receiving physician disability income benefits. He didn’t start out as a lawyer. He was actually a dentist originally, but a back injury ended his dental career. Fortunately he had disability income insurance with an own occupation definition of disability that allowed him to work in a new occupation and still receive the full benefits. He was able to live on the benefits and go to law school. Then he continued to receive the benefits while working as a lawyer.

This lawyer is quick to say that he would not have made it financially without the disability income insurance, but he still wishes he had done a better job of updating his policy.

Though he had substantial savings at the time he became disabled, he was surprised by how quickly they were used up. He says he could have avoided this problem by keeping his coverage up-to-date with his income. “One thing I should have done is upgrade my insurance on a routine basis.”

He also wishes he had purchased a Cost of Living Adjustment rider to increase his monthly benefit while on claim. His benefit would have doubled by now under some COLA riders.

We can help you evaluate your plan to see if it should be upgraded. In most cases there is no reason to discontinue your existing plan. However, we might make suggestions on how to use features within your existing policy to enhance your coverage. Or we can simply add coverage on top of your existing plan to get your total benefit to where it should be.

Contact us and we can discuss how to develop the best plan for your unique situation.