Fall into Open Enrollment with Long Term Disability Tips-Slide handout

Slide handout

Pdf Summary

This presentation by Kathy Bilodeau from DIF, delivered at NAPFA 2025, focuses on Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurance, providing essential tips and insights for financial advisors and clients.<br /><br />Key topics covered include:<br />- Open Enrollment: Defined as an annual period when employees can adjust benefits such as health, life, dental, vision, disability, and retirement accounts to fit their needs. Special Enrollment periods allow for changes after qualifying life events.<br />- Individual Disability Insurance (IDI): IDI offers monthly income replacement if one becomes too sick or injured to work, supplementing or replacing employer group coverage. It is crucial given that most disability claims are illness-related—not work injury—and Social Security disability benefits are time-consuming, limited, and often insufficient.<br />- Underwriting Criteria: To quote IDI, advisors need client demographics, occupation, income, and medical history. Occupation classes, medical conditions, and financial documentation influence approval, coverage limits, and premiums. Policy features include riders like Own Occupation, Residual, Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), and Catastrophic benefits.<br />- Group LTD Insurance: Commonly employer-sponsored but limited in coverage by caps, definitions, and exclusions. About one-third of private industry workers have such insurance, but often coverage is minimal or underutilized.<br />- Special IDI Programs: Include options for new professionals, student loan protection riders, retirement protection plans, and business loan protection riders that provide tailored coverages for different client needs.<br />- Case Studies: Demonstrate how combining group and individual disability coverage better protects income, especially for professionals with variable income sources or business owners.<br />- Objections Addressed: Clients often underestimate disability risk, consider coverage too expensive, or rely solely on employer benefits. Real-life examples highlight the financial hardship of lacking adequate coverage.<br /><br />Overall, the presentation emphasizes the critical role of disability insurance in protecting income—the foundational asset for retirement and financial security—and encourages proactive planning and comprehensive coverage strategies.

Keywords

Long-Term Disability Insurance

Individual Disability Insurance

Open Enrollment

Underwriting Criteria

Group LTD Insurance

Special Enrollment Periods

Disability Insurance Riders

Financial Advisors

Income Protection

Disability Insurance Case Studies