By Tim Lyons, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Last reviewed September 29, 2026.
Your paycheck is probably your biggest financial asset, bigger than your house or your retirement account. If an illness or injury kept you from working for months or years, your income would stop even though your bills would not. Disability income insurance replaces part of that paycheck so a health setback does not turn into a financial one.
How Likely Is It That You Become Disabled?
More likely than most people think. The Social Security Administration says a 20 year old worker has a 1 in 4 chance of developing a disability before reaching full retirement age.[1] Most people insure their car and their house. Their income is worth far more.
Won’t Social Security or My Employer Cover It?
Probably not enough. Social Security pays disability benefits only for conditions expected to last at least one year or result in death, and you must have earned enough work credits.[1] It does not pay for a short disability.
Long term disability plans typically replace about 60 percent of pay.[2][3] If your employer pays some or all of the premium, a portion of the benefit may be taxable.[2] For many households that gap is bigger than expected. We also check what your plan counts as pay.
What Happens to Your Household If Your Paycheck Stops?
The mortgage, the car payment, the insurance, and the groceries keep coming. Savings cover a few months. After that, families sell assets, borrow, or pull from retirement accounts. Disability income insurance is built to replace part of your paycheck so you do not have to.
Who Should Consider Disability Income Insurance?
Some form of income protection is worth a look for almost anyone who depends on a paycheck, but it matters most in a few situations.
- You’re self employed or a business owner with no employer group coverage
- Your employer’s group long term disability plan caps benefits well below your actual income
- Your household relies on one income, or one income carries most of the weight
- You’re early in your career and haven’t built up savings to fall back on
- You work in a specialized profession where an any occupation definition could leave you underpaid if you had to switch fields
Business owners
You are the plan. If you stop working, the income stops and the bills keep coming. There is no employer plan to lean on, so an individual policy is built around your income history.
Working professionals
Your employer plan may look fine until you see the cap. We compare what it pays to what your household needs, and whether an individual policy would fill the gap.
Who Will You Actually Talk To?
Me. When you call or text, I answer. I am Tim Lyons, and I stay with you from your first question to the day your disability income policy is delivered. You will not be handed to a call center, a quote form, or a chatbot.
- Free answers before we start. Ask anything on a 15 minute call. There is no cost and no obligation.
- I shop the carriers. I do not sell one company’s policy. I compare carriers and bring forward the lowest quote for the coverage you need.
- I run the process. I walk you through the health interview, read the formal offer, and explain every line.
- I answer when things change. If the price or terms move, you hear it from me, with options.
What We Look At in a Disability Income Review
- Whether you have coverage through your employer, and how much of your income it actually replaces
- The elimination period (how long you would wait before benefits start)
- How long benefits would last if you could not work
- Whether the policy defines disability by your own occupation or any occupation
- Whether coverage is portable if you change jobs or leave an employer plan
- Riders worth considering, like cost of living adjustments or a future increase option
- How benefits would be taxed based on who pays the premium
We start by looking at what coverage you already have through work, then compare it to what your income and expenses would actually require if a disability took you out of work for an extended period. From there we tell you plainly whether you’re adequately covered, underinsured, or paying for something that would not pay out the way you’d expect, and walk through what closing that gap would involve.
How Is This Different From Buying Online or From One Company?
- Online quote forms: disability policies are full of details like occupation definitions and elimination periods. A form does not explain them.
- An agent tied to one company: you see one company’s policies.
- Working with me: I compare carriers, explain the fine print in plain English, and stay with you through underwriting.
What Happens After You Say Yes to a Quote?
There are three steps, and you can stop at any of them.
- We compare rates. The lowest quote for the coverage you need moves forward.
- The carrier completes underwriting. Underwriting is when they review your health and make a formal offer.
- We look at real pricing together. We check the benefit amount, elimination period, benefit period, premiums, and other policy features.
Most of the time, nothing changes. It is just a chance to confirm the numbers.
Why can two carriers price the same person differently?
Every carrier scores health a little differently. Think of a big spreadsheet with a tab for each factor: height, weight, age, job, and more. Each company draws its cutoffs in slightly different places. What one carrier rates as “standard,” another might rate as “preferred.”
What if the price goes up?
Some agents skip this step. They say “the price changed” and push you to accept it. I will not do that. The health interview gives us the detail we need to shop other carriers, so if the number moves, we look at other options first. I am not stuck with the first offer, and neither are you.
What if the price goes down?
It can. Underwriting sometimes moves your rating in your favor. When that happens, I re-run the quotes with the new rating class to confirm the lowest option is still the lowest.
What Holds People Back From Moving Forward?
“My employer already covers me.”
Often only partly. We look at exactly what the plan pays, what it leaves out, and whether it follows you if you change jobs.
“Social Security will help.”
It may, for a long disability, if you have enough work credits. It does not pay for a short disability, and it is not built to replace your paycheck.
“I’m young and healthy.”
That is when coverage is generally less expensive. A policy locked in early can be harder to qualify for later if your health changes.
“My income changes every year.”
That is common for self employed people. Underwriting typically looks at your income history to set the benefit amount, and I will walk you through what will be needed.
“I don’t want a pushy sales call.”
Fair. The call is free, it is 15 minutes, and you can hang up with answers and no obligation.
Ready for a Free 15 Minute Call?
Bring your questions and any group disability paperwork from work. We will look at what you have, what your household needs, and what your options are.
Common Questions About Disability Income Insurance
Often only partly. Long term disability plans typically replace about 60 percent of pay, and a portion of the benefit may be taxable if your employer pays some or all of the premium. For many households that gap is bigger than expected.
Own occupation coverage pays if you can’t do your specific job, even if you could do other work. Any occupation coverage only pays if you can’t work in any job reasonably suited to your training and experience. The definition in your policy has a big effect on when and whether you’d actually be paid.
It depends on your income, fixed expenses, existing employer coverage, and other savings, not a flat percentage. We calculate a number based on your actual situation rather than a generic rule of thumb.
Coverage is generally less expensive when you’re younger and in good health, and a policy locked in early can be harder to qualify for later if your health changes. Waiting until you think you need it often means paying more, or not qualifying at all.
Yes. Individual disability income policies are built for exactly this, since self employed workers usually have no employer plan to fall back on. Underwriting typically looks at your income history to set the benefit amount.
Not for most people. Social Security pays only for conditions expected to last at least one year or result in death, and you need enough work credits to qualify.
Underwriting is when the carrier reviews your health and makes a formal offer. It is the step between a quote and a real policy.
Most of the time, no. Sometimes the health review shows something the quote did not account for, and the offer moves. If it does, we look at other carriers before you accept anything.
Yes. Sometimes the carrier re-rates you into a better health class, and the offer comes back lower than the quote. When that happens, we re-run the quotes to confirm the numbers.
Nothing. It is a free conversation with me. You can ask questions, and you decide whether to go further.
Ready to start? Book a free 15 minute call or call or text me at 561-331-6226. You will talk to me, Tim Lyons, not a call center and not a chatbot.
Sources
- Social Security Administration. “Disability Benefits (Publication No. 05-10029).” Undated publication. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10029.pdf
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners. “If a Disability Were to Keep You From Earning a Living, How Would You Pay Your Bills?.” May 20, 2020. https://content.naic.org/article/consumer-insight-if-disability-were-keep-you-earning-living-how-would-you-pay-your-bills
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Disability insurance plans: trends in employee access and employer costs (Beyond the Numbers).” February 24, 2015. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-4/disability-insurance-plans.htm
Accessed September 29, 2026.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. Lyons Resources and LPL Financial are separate entities.