A serious illness or injury can cut off earned income for months or years. Disability insurance replaces a portion of that income when the insured is unable to work because of a covered disability. Benefits are typically a percentage of pre-disability earnings and continue for a defined period or to a specified age.

Short-term policies cover absences of a few months; long-term policies address disabilities that last years. Definitions of disability range from inability to perform one’s own occupation to inability to perform any occupation. Elimination periods, benefit caps, and residual disability provisions shape the protection.

Individual policies are medically underwritten; group policies through employers may offer guaranteed issue at lower benefit levels. Claims require medical evidence and ongoing proof of disability. The coverage is a core element of personal financial planning for anyone whose household depends on earned income.

• Replaces income when the insured cannot work
• Available in short-term and long-term forms
• Definition of disability is a key policy term
• Underwritten individually or provided on a group basis