Don’t Let DIAM Pass You By
The year 2020 is certainly one most Americans will be talking about for many years to come. The global Coronavirus pandemic has significantly altered the way most of us live and work – at least temporarily. But as we do our part to socially distance, staying at home, trying to “flatten that curve”, millions of people in this country are suddenly jobless, attempting to support families and households without any income other than meager government assistance.
This horrendous predicament sadly demonstrates the simple power of a paycheck and that income is a most important asset to life as we know it. There is no better time than now to promote and educate on the attributes of financially protecting income with disability insurance.
May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), supported by the diligent efforts of those behind stellar organizations such as the Council for Disability Awareness and Life Happens; both of which are non-profit entities with the altruistic purpose of spreading risk awareness and education among the public, the media and financial professional communities. DIAM provides advisors, brokers and agents a grand opportunity to introduce or reintroduce their clients to the most fundamental of all insurances – income protection. Most employed persons living in the United States have little or no disability insurance or paycheck preservation. And many of those with long-term DI fail to secure sufficient amounts.
According to a Life Happens study, three in 10 Americans will become disabled for a period in excess of 90 days during their working career. The value of DI couldn’t be clearer. Although commonly misunderstood and often ineffectively prescribed by insurance professionals, disability insurance should be a requisite for any employed person and should more often be a focal point of insurance sales presentations. DI matters because your clients matter, and DIAM can help you show them just how much they matter and how financially precarious American lives really are.
The eye-opening statistical information carefully researched by Life Happens and by the Council for Disability Awareness can be found on their respective websites and makes for great sales pieces. Additional educational tools (insurance calculators and real life testimonials) are provided masterfully by these organizations free of charge. Take advantage of these programs and materials as they can only improve your knowledge of such an overlooked market.
Help us celebrate DIAM by sharing your insight of disability insurance with your clients, hammering it home that social security disability benefits and workers comp alone aren’t sufficient income protection. Please let Petersen International know if you are in need of any disability financial planning guidance. No matter the case, we can point you in the right direction.