Buy extra disability insurance?

[Shaabenanizer]

Though I have disability insurance through work (the standard 3 year stuff), I've been thinking of buying additional insurance outside of work. Lately I've witnessed some freakishly healthy friends suffer from unheard of genetic illnesses to bad luck in skiing, causing them to shell out thousand of dollars each month in care and rehabilitation. This could go on for several more months.

I'm single with no kids to sponge off of.

I would love to hear some perspectives and experiences as the statistics (1 in 6 people becomes disabled) can be scary and may be clouding my judgement.

[wincrasher]

It can be expensive. I was quoted about $600 a month for $5000 a month benefit. It's nearly impossible to find a policy that will pay out more than $5k a month. But it is tax free.

Just like buying life insurance, you are health checked and you have to provide all your financial data. There is also a wait period from the initial date of claim (mine was 180 days) before any benefit would kick it.

It also may not stack - that is, you may only get a reduced benefit until your work policy would expire, then it would go to the full amount. It also can be reduced by any amounts you would be entitled to from Social Security.

Most importantly, if you smoke, have any serious pre-existing condition, are overweight, have history of mental illness, drinking, drugs or DUI, don't even bother to apply. The reforms of "Obamacare" don't apply to this kind of insurance.

[Seeker]

This is a site intended to be educational in nature... pretty scary to me:

About Disability Insurance

Especially the below stats:

Disability Insurance Odds and Statistics


You'd have to judge by what is available to you specifically. Your age? Your health? Your blood relatives health history? etc.

And also look at your debts versus your savings. What would you absolutely need to pay for if you were to become disabled for any reason and could you continue to pay for (for a period of disability that could last 3 years or even longer) without being able to work for a living? Mortgage? Or does disablement put you out on the street afterward?

I don't know what I'd do if either me or my husband were disabled. We don't have any debts, and we both work. Needless to say, I hope that our current work insurances will not reject either of us.

Count us among the 82% with either inadequate disablility insurance or non-separately purchased disability insurance. But we're also probably "uninsurable" for any separate plans that might be available at our ages, since we're both over 45.