Almost everyone needs disability insurance. Think about it. Your capacity to earn a living is crucial. Your income makes it possible to buy food, make mortgage payments, provide for your children, take a vacation, and countless other things. Many faithfully pay premiums for car, life, homeowner’s insurance, and perhaps even a pet’s medical insurance, but they neglect this extremely important protection, disability insurance.

There are few things as disruptive to a family’s happiness as having a parent, or maybe both, lose his or her income due to accident or illness. When income is drastically reduced, it creates stress and unmet needs and expectations. It often creates feelings of guilt in a parent. Life is hard without a reliable source of income.

A LIFE Foundation study states that 70% of working Americans could not be without income for more than one month without serious financial difficulty. Surprisingly, the same study states that one of every four Americans couldn’t last a week if they were seriously injured and unable to work. Clearly, the answer to the question, “Does almost everyone need disability insurance?” is a resounding “Yes!”

It is important for an individual, and especially important for a family, to have a financial plan. Disability insurance should be one of the foundation stones of everyone’s financial plan, because it protects such an important asset – your income.

After you make the decision to purchase disability insurance, there are still important questions to be answered and decisions to be made. These include how large a benefit is needed, how much coverage will cost, how long the waiting period is, whether an employer offers coverage, and whether coverage is needed after age 65.

Once the decision is made and the policy is purchased and in effect, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You have done what is necessary to protect your happiness with disability insurance. More importantly, you have protected your family by providing for them if your ability to work is interrupted.