An elimination period for disability insurance is the number of days that you must be disabled before a benefit will be paid. Elimination periods are usually offered for
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 90 days
- 180 days
- 360 days
- 720 days
Think of the elimination period as the policy deductible – you are not paying anything to the company, but the longer you are disabled without any income, the less money you have going into your pocket. As an example, if you make $500 per day and have a 90-day elimination period, your lost wages in those first 90 days would be $45,000. If you have a 365 day elimination period and are disabled longer than that, your lost wages during that first year would be $182,500.
A shorter elimination period will have a higher required premium, while a longer elimination period will have a lower premium. The most common elimination period purchase for disability insurance is 90 days.
However, not all elimination periods are created equal. With some companies, they will impose a new elimination period every time you recover. Our top disability carrier considers different periods of disability for the same illness or injury the same, so the elimination period only has to be satisfied one time. They will also waive the elimination period for any subsequent disability within five years, whether it has to do with the original disabling condition or not, as long as that disability lasted at least six months and benefits have already been paid for it previously.
To get a quote for a disability insurance policy, give us a call at 1-888-972-0024 from 9 AM to 9 PM eastern time or CLICK HERE to send us an e-mail 24 hours a day. You can also complete the short form below. Due to the number of factors involved in quoting disability insurance, online instant quotes are not available.