How much will your disability insurance pay?
Knowing how much your disability insurance will pay is key to deciding if you have enough coverage.
Many disability insurers will cover a max of 60% of your income. This is the total amount between your policy at work (group coverage), and any policy you may have on your own (individual coverage).
A typical situation
Most ER docs have group disability coverage through work. A common group policy covers 60% of gross income up to $15K/month. This means the maximum benefit is $15K/month, or $180K/year.
Payout depends on gross income
How much your disability insurance will pay depends on your gross income before you became disabled.
In our typical situation, you would need $300K/year gross income to collect the max $180K/year under the policy. $300K x 60% = $180K.
If you gross less than $300K/year, you collect less than $180K/year under the policy.
If you gross more than $300K/year, the max under this group policy is still $180K/year.
Adding more coverage
If you gross more than $300K/year and you feel $180K/year would be insufficient, you can apply for an individual policy to get more coverage. See the table below.
Maximum Disability Insurance Coverage by Gross Income | |||
Gross Income | Max Total Benefit (60% Gross) | Group Benefit (60% to $180K) | Max Individual Benefit |
$200K | $120K | $120K | $0 |
$300K | $180K | $180K | $0 |
| $400K | $240K | $180K | $60K |
| $500K | $300K | $180K | $120K |
If you need help determining if your disability coverage is sufficient, schedule a FREE Financial Pulse Assessment™. This is a free 3 step process to get clarity on your finances and “test drive” our services.
