What will you do if you lose your income?
You know how essential health insurance is for getting the healthcare you need. But what about disability insurance, which offers an additional necessary combination of protection and benefit? When you are sick or disabled, not only do you need healthcare coverage, you need a way to replace the income that is lost because you cannot work. This is where disability insurance comes in.

Why do you need disability insurance?

Approximately 25 percent of U.S. workers can expect to be disabled for three months or longer during their working life. It is estimated that one in seven employees can expect to be disabled for five years or more. Unexpected illnesses and injuries cause 350,000 personal bankruptcies each year, and nearly 50 percent of all mortgage foreclosures. This could happen to you.

What is disability insurance?

There are two kinds of disability insurance. Short-term disability provides benefits for a short period of time after an illness, injury, surgery, or even pregnancy. Long-term disability benefits begin when short-term provisions end, and can last a long time — in some instances even for life.
Why Brethren Insurance Services?
If you don’t have this valuable insurance, it’s time you considered it. It’s available from Brethren Insurance Services through Church of the Brethren-affiliated employers, including churches, retirement communities, agencies, camps, and districts. If you are not in one of these groups, talk to your trusted insurance agent. If you are eligible to buy disability insurance from Brethren Insurance Services, here are some reasons for doing so and some features of the plans:

  • Employer-sponsored insurance is less expensive than individual coverage.
  • Short-term disability payments begin on the 15th day and continue for up to 11 weeks.

The payments provide 60 percent of your weekly earnings up to $1,250 weekly.

The plan includes maternity benefits.

  • Long-term disability payments begin after three months (90 days) of continuous disability and generally speaking, continue until social security begins or you are able to return to work.

The payments provide 66-2/3 percent of your salary, up to $5,000 per month.

For people disabled after the age of 60, payments continue for at least five years, or until age 70.

The LTD plan has a “rehabilitation” benefit that allows you to keep your monthly benefit payments while beginning to return to your regular job. The benefit is reduced by the amount of 50 percent of those earnings.

  • There are no restrictions on how you can use the money your STD or LTD policies provide.
  • If you combine short-term and long-term policies, in most cases you will have income from day 15 until you are able to return to work, or reach the age when you can collect social security payments.
  • If you have questions, contact Jeremiah Thompson, Brethren Insurance Services, 1-800-746-1501, ext. 3368. 
Think about it

You have insurance for your car and your home. Why wouldn’t you have insurance to replace your income?