Tip - Better Deals on Disability Insurance

Not so long ago, disability insurance was one of the industry's blackest eyes. Companies that sold disability coverage, which replaces lost earnings if you can't work, incurred massive losses during the 1990s, partly due to questionable payouts on claims for “nerves” and “stress.” Then a multistate investigation by insurance commissioners, completed in 2005, found that some of the largest insurers were delaying and stonewalling the payment of legitimate benefits and committing other breaches of trust. That, plus a spate of lawsuits, led about 40 companies -- most of them not the chief offenders -- to quit selling individual policies. The insurers that stayed in the business raised rates for new buyers and tightened their underwriting rules, making it tougher to buy adequate coverage.
Tags: disability insurance, MassMutual, Disability Insurance Resource Center, Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants, Guardian