Obtaining disability insurance is a great idea, but many standard disability insurance policies are written in such a way that you may have coverage gaps that leave you with little or no coverage when you need it most.

Policies can vary in how they define “disabled,” whether your benefits will increase with time, and how long you are covered by the policy.

Instead of finding yourself without the coverage you need, Morgan & Morgan recommends that you talk to your insurance provider about the following insurance riders.

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)

Cost of living is constantly on the rise. However, your disability benefits won’t see any annual inflation increases unless you have this rider attached to your policy. You can expect to see the overall cost of your policy rise by roughly 15 percent, but you will be protected from your benefit decreasing in the future. The value of adding a COLA rider to your policy increases the longer you withdraw benefits, so it is more valuable for a younger worker to add to their policy than an older individual.

Own Occupation

Standard disability policies only provide coverage if you can’t return to any job. If you are a highly trained or skilled professional, you may have to take a drastic pay cut and not receive benefits if you become disabled. The Own Occupation rider ensures that you have disability coverage for work-related injuries that keep you from being able to do your specific job. This rider is crucial for individuals in highly specialized fields.

Future Increase

A Future Increase rider guarantees that you will be able to purchase more insurance without a second medical test if your salary increases. Our disability lawyers note that this rider is primarily for individuals who expect to see their salaries increase and who are concerned that they won’t be insurable if they take a secondary medical test. If you are in excellent health, have a low likelihood of injury and do not expect your salary to increase substantially, you may not need this rider. Contact our Athens lawyers today.

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