Use Disability Insurance Awareness Month to Educate

What You Need to Know

About one-quarter of workers will become disabled before the normal retirement age.
Roughly 40% of U.S. adults worry about how they could cope with a disability.
Few clients know much about individual disability insurance.

Disability insurance is one of the most overlooked types of insurance, despite being key for protecting your clients’ most valuable asset — their ability to earn an income.

The 2023 Insurance Barometer Study by LIMRA and Life Happens found that four in 10 people were very or extremely concerned about how they’d get by financially if they couldn’t work due to a disabling illness or injury.

And the Social Security Administration found that one in four workers entering the workforce will become disabled in their working lifetime.

These staggering statistics show the various challenges that can occur from an unforeseen injury or sickness, so it’s paramount that financial advisors and agents educate clients about the role that disability insurance plays in protecting anyone who works, particularly as there is an evident need to educate others about disability insurance.

A good place to start with helping clients overcome the lack of education around disability insurance is debunking myths, because that’s an easy way to explain what disability insurance is and isn’t.

One of the biggest misconceptions we can help clients with is the myth that people do not need more coverage if they already have coverage through work.

Many clients overlook what exactly is offered through work or the repercussions that can occur if they switch jobs or don’t have enough coverage.

So how can clients overcome these misconceptions and learn more about disability insurance?

Using unique educational resources from social media posts, digital flyers, emails, and videos to educate clients, the nonprofit Life Happens also provides a Disability Insurance Needs Calculator and videos that explain disability insurance in an easy, and concise way.

This year, for the first time ever, there are also resources available in Spanish.