It’s easy to put disability insurance at the bottom of your to-do list or overlook it when you are young. The simple truth, however, is that young people need disability insurance too.
With a misconception that a disability won’t impact you because you are young, many opt out of securing a DI plan. However, more than 40 million Americans are disabled, and 1 in 4 of today’s 20-year-olds will be out of work for at least a year due to a disability before they even reach retirement age. Another common argument is that they have low-risk careers in which they could become injured. While nobody is exempt from injury, and it can occur at any given point in life, whether at work or not, about 90% of disability claims result from a medical issue.
Life happens when we least expect it, and it’s better to plan than regret it later. Disability insurance offers you financial security and peace of mind. Should you find yourself unable to work due to an illness or injury, your disability insurance plan would step in to give you a payout each month that can be used towards all of your living expenses, medical expenses, and more. That way, you aren’t sacrificing your basic needs and can carry on financially no matter how short, or long the setback you face is.
Here are more reasons why young people need disability insurance:
Start With a Low-Cost Plan
The cost of disability insurance is based on how likely you are to file a disability claim for benefits, with age and health as determining factors.
As a healthy, 20-something-year-old, you pose the least amount of risk. Meaning that your premium will be lower today than it will at a future date. This is because healthy people carry less risk to disability insurers than those with chronic illnesses or established disabilities. You can create financial security for the future at a lower cost now.
You Have a Family / Are the Breadwinner
Getting married and having children makes disability insurance a must. Beyond all the housing bills, you have food, clothes, and tuition piled up on your current expenses. The cost of these items will only grow as they get older.
Even if you have a working spouse, odds are your lifestyle and bills are still dependent on a combined income from you both. If one income is lost due to a disability, would you be able to proceed with living the life you currently do?
You Have Debt
The average American has $90,460 in debt, according to a 2021 CNBC report. That included all consumer debt products, from credit cards to personal loans, mortgages, and student debt. If you have an obligation you are working to pay off, a sudden loss of income could significantly impact your ability to make these payments on time. Student loans are difficult to discharge even if you declare bankruptcy following a disability.
You Own a Home or Property
If you own a house or any other property, your payments are likely your most significant monthly expense. If you were to lose out on your income due to a disability, all it would take is a few months to fall behind. This puts you at an extreme financial risk that could result in foreclosure. In a time where young people have had to work extraordinarily hard to purchase their own home, keep it secure and safe with the backup plan of DI.
You Are Self-Employed
As per Upwork, the supply side of the US freelance economy consists of 56.7 million freelancers, including all freelancers, meaning they freelance full-time, part-time, or only occasionally.
Self-employment creates a world in which you hold power to do what you love. The catch is that you are on your own to plan for your future! Without a company behind you, no 401k or insurance plan will be set up for you. Instead, you have to take action and secure your future.
Being self-employed makes you a prime candidate for disability insurance. If something happened to you and you could not work, there would be no company behind you to offer help or compensation. Taking the extra step and creating financial security for your future is essential. Take control of your life, your finances, and your future today. You may not know what the future holds, but you can prepare for it. At Heroes Sick Pay , we work to find you a disability insurance plan that suits your needs and lifestyle.
