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Survey: most employees don’t know what disability insurance is

On Behalf of | Aug 24, 2012 | ERISA |

According to a recent survey, many workers in Houston may have disability insurance through their employment benefits, but not even know it. Or, they may know they have coverage, but they do not really know much about it.

The survey, conducted by the Consumer Federation of America and Unum, found that about 13 percent of workers know a lot about disability insurance, and less than half of workers even know what disability benefits are. Disability insurance comes into play in the event that a worker becomes disabled before the age of retirement. Disability insurance is insurance on your income.

It is very important that people understand their existing disability benefits and what their options may be, because in the event that a person ever needs to make a claim, things tend to go smoother when the claimant understands his or her policy and rights.

Sometimes, disability insurers do wrongfully deny claims, or they fail to provide adequate benefits. In these cases, workers can often work with experienced Employee Retirement Income Security lawyers to resolve these issues, but if workers don’t know what their rights are or whether they are even insured–they are unlikely to file a claim, let alone dispute the outcome.

According to the Social Security Administration, 25 percent of all of today’s 20-year-olds will be disabled before they hit the age of 67. People often do not like to plan for the worst, and so they may put off looking into disability insurance. The study’s authors know this and they are reportedly now working with the government to come up with a way to educate America’s workforce about the importance of disability insurance.

It is important, too, that workers know they can fight for their rights when a short- or long-term disability claim is rejected.

Source: Employee Benefit News, “Don’t know much about disability,” Brian M. Kalish, Aug. 1, 2012

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