A Basic Guide To How Short-Term Disability Insurance Works
It would be nice if life were predictable. Sadly, it’s not. You can plan and dream, but everyday situations carry the potential for life-altering consequences. A single accident could leave you and your family without income. Even for a short period, this could mean significant financial challenges for most Americans.
Short term disability insurance can provide a layer of protection – it offers peace of mind in the face of life’s unpredictability. Simply put, short term disability insurance, or STD, replaces a portion of your income while you recover from an accident or injury that has left you temporarily unable to work.
In the United States, most people think they won’t need short-term disability insurance. According to statistics, at least 7.4 million injuries happen at workplaces annually in the US. In other words, at least 5% of US citizens suffer from a short-term disability because of pregnancy, injury or illness. Let’s find out how short-term disability works and why you should get a short term disability insurance quote from a good provider.
How does short-term disability work?
Basically, the role of short term disability insurance is to cover part of your salary during a period when you are unable to work. This may be due to injury or sickness.
Some employees qualify for short term disability insurance when they get hired. And others go through a waiting period where they only get the protection for a specific period.
How much does the policy pay?
Although the coverage of this policy varies, it can cover between 40% and 80% of your monthly salary during the period when you are unable to work. It also depends on the state you are from. So, you should get a short term disability insurance quote.
How long does it provide coverage?
Typically, the period of this policy is 3 to 6 months, and the maximum coverage period is 52 weeks. If you don’t get back on your feet even after 52 weeks, you may apply for long-term disability insurance. In this case, it makes sense to obtain a short term disability insurance quote.
Elimination period
Short-term disability insurance has an elimination period. In other words, you have to sustain an injury or be disabled for a specific period before you could get the benefits. Usually, this period is 7 days but can be up to 180 days in rare cases.
How to apply?
If you are an employee, you should contact your HRM department first. They can review your documents and get in touch with the short-term disability insurance provider and get a short term disability insurance quote. Some employers use the available sick days prior to the beginning of the short-term disability period.
Once you have completed your claim and submitted required documents, you can send these documents to your policy provider.
In short, this is how short-term disability insurance works. If you need to apply for this policy, we suggest that you get in touch with a professional. This will help you get familiar with different types of policies.
Since each policy is different, you may want to check the specifics to ensure you know about the policy very well.
