This morning I saw a message board discussing the name “disability insurance.” Some argued it should be called something else such as paycheck protection or income insurance. Others said it should remain the same.

The purpose of disability insurance is to pay you a monthly benefit if you can no longer work in your professional capacity or medical or dental specialty. This can be a result of an accident, illness, etc… Technically, you are not able bodied. Thus, you are disabled.

Many people associate being disabled as being in a wheelchair or in bed with cancer. They may not realize that disability insurance is much more comprehensive. It covers you if you are partially out of work regardless if it is an injury or a wheelchair.

In fact, most individual policies for white collar professionals have additional benefits if you have a devastating injury. This is called the capital sum benefit. If you lose use of both arms, both legs, eyesight, hearing, etc… they will pay full benefits even if you are still working in your profession.

There were some interesting points on the discussion board saying it should be called “income protection insurance” or “paycheck protection.” However, I think those names are more limiting. Some of my clients don’t rely on a paycheck. A lot of my clients are business owners, physicians and dentists. They don’t look as their income as a paycheck. It’s much more complicated than that. They are not just covering their income. They are covering their bodies and their ability to produce that income. As such, if they have an inability to work, the policy pays. Also known as a “disability.”