Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to an accident or prolonged illness. It’s usually broken into short-term insurance (typically one month or less) and long-term (anywhere from a month to a lifetime). Short-term disability insurance usually covers 60-70% of your salary at the time of the disability; long-term disability insurance typically covers 50-60%.

What sort of disability coverage do you need, and what types are available? First, ask yourself:
- What are your monthly expenses, and how long could your family live off of savings or other assets if you’re disabled and unable to work?
- Are you the only source of income in your family?
- What coverage, if any, do you get from your employer?
- Does your job (or your lifestyle) contain enough risk to make a disabling injury a reasonable possibility?
- What Social Security Disability benefits would you qualify …
