Women Are 3 Times as Likely to Suffer Disability

Women are three times as likely as men to become disabled. And unlike men, many of their disabilities can be forecasted or planned. Yet many women are not taking advantage of disability insurance to protect their incomes. Short term disability insurance may be one of the best bargains a woman will find in her life-time. Smart planning and fast action are all that is needed.

Women More Likely to Be Disabled

While women generally outlive men by many years, they are three times more likely to be disabled than men. This can partially be explained by women's tendency to contract a variety of chronic medical conditions which may lead to a disability. While many health conditions affect both men and women, a number of health issues affect only women and some are more prevalent in women.

The larger factor creating this discrepancy is the woman's role in reproduction. When a couple decides to have a child, dad's health is barely impacted.
Whereas mom faces at least a six week disability for her normal maternity leave when she and her baby are perfectly healthy. Now add to this the possibility of pregnancy complications, miscarriage, delivery complications, and a variety of postpartum disorders.

Unisex Premiums First Part of Bargain

Because women are more likely to become disabled than men, many disability premiums are approximately 40% as expensive for women as they are for men. But if you shop around you will find that some insurers will offer unisex premiums.

Unisex premiums allow women to buy disability coverage, and pay the same rate as men - even though they are three times as likely to suffer a disability.
This is the first way women may find a great bargain.

Maternity Coverage the 2nd and Biggest Part of the Bargain

Many short term disability policies will cover mom's normal labor and delivery. Short term disability insurance pays a six week benefit for vaginal delivery, and an eight week benefit for c-section birth - less the elimination period. The elimination period is typically one or two weeks for policies sold with maternity coverage.

Mom's benefit for normal delivery may cover the premium cost for three to four years, making short term disability insurance an amazing bargain. But the benefit for normal delivery is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Twenty five percent of pregnancies will encounter one or more complications of pregnancy. Mom may be disabled for bed rest prior to her delivery, and she may also need extended time to recover after her delivery should postpartum disorders arise. Short term disability insurance will continue to replace her income during these times.

Plan Ahead and Act Fast

If you are planning a pregnancy, consider purchasing short term disability insurance before getting pregnant. Once you have already conceived your ability to leverage the benefits for pregnancy complications and maternity leave go out the window. Pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition.

By acting quickly you can create maternity leave income for your normal delivery, and gain security for pregnancy complications, delivery complications, accidents and illnesses.

About the Author

Find out more about how to leverage short term disability for pregnancy.

Kevin Haney is a licensed health insurance agent helping growing families generate maternity leave income, and protection just in case by using supplemental family health insurance benefits .

Published by: Kevin Haney

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