As the owner of a small business, you already know the hard work it takes to run a company. Pouring your blood, sweat and tears into an enterprise is a physically and mentally taxing challenge that is rewarded when you see a successful business as the fruits of your labor. How would you feel if one day you were no longer able to pursue your dream and could not make a living to support your family? This is where the concept of income protection, or disability insurance, comes into play. Disability insurance protects your ability to earn an income and ensures that the life you have worked so hard to achieve will not be lost due to unforeseen expenses and circumstances.

Small businesses often have to find ways to cut costs on many purchases, and benefits are one of the first perks to go. Many professionals, especially young ones, do not think they will become disabled and do not need a disability insurance policy. A little bit of disability claim advice for you: the millions of young disabled individuals in this country will tell you otherwise! The scariest thing about a disability or chronic condition is that you never know when it will strike, but it may leave you with mounting medical bills and an inability to continue to earn a living. Purchasing a disability insurance plan allows you to have the peace of mind that your family, and your lifestyle, can always be maintained, even if you are injured or otherwise unable to work.

There are several options for the small business owner to purchase disability insurance. The most common plans for a small business are individual plans, with group plans becoming an option if you have a number of employees looking for income protection. The best plans have an “own occupation” definition of disability, which means you are eligible for benefits as long as you can no longer work the position you held before the disability. Cheaper, but less preferred plans, have an “any occupation” definition of disability, which means you have to be disabled form working any profession for the disability benefits to kick in. These plans also vary in the percentage of pre-disability income they pay out and by the various policy clauses involving residual and total disability, which is another article in itself!

The biggest problem with disability insurance is how hard it has become recently to successfully file a claim for benefits. Insurance companies have become very concerned with the bottom line and less concerned at how the consumer is treated or if they are actually disabled. This has given way to a new marketplace of lawyers and other experts who offer disability claim help to those who have been denied their benefits or are being harassed by the insurance companies. The success rate of filing a claim with wither an attorney or another advocate is much greater than taking on the insurance companies on your own, and the benefits are paid much quicker with an airtight case.

While not on the top of most business owners' radar, disability insurance is one of the most important types of insurance anyone can purchase. In today's marketplace, we insure almost everything, but people often leave out their most valuable asset in their ability to earn an income. This asset can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions! Looking at this figure, disability insurance is a bargain if you ever need it. Ensure your peace of mind and the ability to keep a roof over your family's head by investing in a good disability insurance policy today, you will not regret it!