Group Disability Insurance Get A Quote Now

If you own or manage a business, you know your day-to-day involvement is vital to its success.  Illness or injury can jeopardize an organization’s success and threaten its financial security.  Protect your income, your key employees’ income, and protect the business itself from the financial effects of disability.

The benefits paid under a disability income policy are in the form of monthly income payments.  Unlike life insurance policies, disability income insurance has a benefit ceiling. Disability income benefits are based on the insured’s earning and are designed to replace lost income.

To determine the amount of benefits payable under a group disability income policy, insurers use a percentage of the insured’s pre-disability earnings, and take into account other sources of disability income.  It is important to fully understand the policy’s definition of “disability”. Some policies have a very strict definition that will not pay for many types of disability.

Group short term disability plans are characterized by maximum benefit periods of short term duration, such as 13 or 26 weeks.  Benefits are usually paid weekly and range from 50% to 100% of the individuals income.

Group long-term disability plans provide for a maximum benefit period of more than two years, occasionally extending to the insured’s retirement age.  Benefit amounts are usually limited to about 60% of the participation income.

If an employer provides both a short-term plan and a long-term plan, typically the long-term plan begins paying benefits only after the short-term benefits cease.  Often, long-term plans use an “own occupation” definition of total disability for the first year or two of disability and then switch to an “any occupation” definition.

Most group disability plans require the employee to have a minimum period of service, such as 30 to 90 days, before coverage is triggered. In addition, most group plans include provisions making their benefits supplemental to Workers’ Compensation benefits, so that total benefits received do not exceed a specified percentage of regular earnings. In some cases, group disability plans limit coverage to non occupational disabilities, because occupational disabilities normally qualify for Workers’ Compensation benefits. 

Group disability plans may also contain specific exclusions under which benefits will not be paid, even if the definition of disability is otherwise met. For example, common exclusions are: self-inflicted injuries; disabilities during periods when the employee is not under a physician’s care; disabilities resulting from war; disabilities beginning before the employee was eligible for plan coverage.

Employers with one or more employees in New York State are subject to the provisions of the New York State Disability Benefits Law.

The Disability Benefits law provides weekly cash benefits to replace, in part, wages lost due to illness or injury that do not arise out of or in the course of employment.

Cash Benefits are 50% of a claimant’s average weekly wage, but no more than the maximum benefit allowed.  The average weekly wage is based on the last eight weeks of employment. Effective 5/1/1989, the maximum benefit allowance for any disability is $170 a week.

Benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks of disability during 52 consecutive weeks. To read in more detail about New York State Statutory Law and requirements click here.