Most likely you have already heard about life insurance , or even already have one for eventualities that may happen.
What about disability life insurance , do you know or have heard of it? Would it be the same as Disability Retirement or is there a difference?
Many people only know about Retirement for Disability as a benefit paid by the INSS (which is not wrong), but they do not know that there is a life insurance for disability that is paid when requested by the insured person.
If these are your doubts, or if you are curious to know more about each one and why they are different, you are in the right place.
What is life insurance?
In short and objectively, life insurance is a contract with the aim of financially protecting family members and dependents in the event of the death or accident of the insured person, as a rule.
Insurance can be contracted individually, collectively by a group of workers, or even offered by the companies themselves, so check this possibility before contracting individually. 🙂
And a very important warning: insurance must obligatorily cover the risk of death, whether due to natural causes or accidents .
What many people do not realize is that life insurance can benefit even the insurance holder , for example, in cases of illness and accidents that permanently disable him.
In this example, you can take out insurance with greater coverage , such as disability due to accidents, permanent disability due to illness, serious illness , temporary disability and unemployment , in addition to many other possibilities, which can be combined into a single policy.
You can take out insurance that covers permanent disability, or just partial disability.
It may also contain an illness or accident disability policy . It all depends on what you would like to protect yourself in the future.
Difference between disability life insurance and disability pension
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Disability pension is for those who are insured by Social Security , that is, who make contributions to the General or Own Social Security System.
Disability Life Insurance, on the other hand, needs to be contracted , that is, it is intended for the insured person who, looking for an insurer, and contracting the service, will become insured under the terms of the contract he signed.
It is very important that you understand the aspects that make disability life insurance different from INSS Disability pension.
Thinking about this, I separated some aspects for you to understand why there is this difference:
Permanent disability
It is characterized as the definitive loss of function of an individual’s limb, organ or body part, preventing him from carrying out his professional activity .
partial disability
It is characterized by the fractional loss of function or mobility of an organ or body member.
This category can be exemplified by incidents in the eyes: if an individual has an accident that causes reduced vision in only one eye, the event is considered a partial disability .
Disability due to accident or illness
Each case is evaluated according to what happened.
How is disability proven to receive insurance?
Knowing these categories of disability due to illness, all your medical documentation will be verified: medical reports, exams and others that confirm the impossibility of the insured person to work permanently.
If your disability is confirmed , due compensation will be guaranteed.
But attention! When confirming your disability and the cause, check that what caused your illness/injury is covered by the policy you took out.
In the event of an accident, accident reports will also be required , for example, to confirm the occurrence of an accident covered by the insurance policy that causes the partial or total loss of a limb or organ, preventing the insured person from working, as well guarantees compensation.
What are the benefits of family health insurance?
Disability insurance exists to ensure that you will be able to cover your household expenses in situations where an accident or illness ends up compromising your ability to perform your work.
Now you know that Life Insurance does not only offer coverage for death situations, but also for disability cases, and that based on the differences I explained to you above, identify which one you would like to be insured for, in the event of a contraction.
What does insurance not cover?
Some circumstances are not usually covered by life insurance, it is essential to know them to be sure that the policy category you are contracting really covers your needs.
See what’s left out:
- pre-existing illnesses to the hiring that were not declared in the adhesion proposal, but which are known to the insured;
- war operations, public nuisance or acts of terrorism;
- use of nuclear material;
- suicide attempt, with the exception of cases occurring after 2 years from the initial validity of the insurance;
- intentional unlawful acts committed by the contracting party, by its beneficiary or legal representative;
- accidents caused by cyclones, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves and other natural disasters;
- disturbances and food poisoning of any kind, including those arising from the use of drugs, chemicals or medication — unless prescribed by medical order as a result of a personal accident.
Stay tuned, because if you are a Social Security insured, affiliated to the General System, and go through some disability situation, be it partial or permanent, due to illness or accident, you may be entitled to the Permanent Disability Benefit , better known as Disability pension.
I’ll explain more about this benefit to you!
Summary
Disability life insurance is an excellent alternative for anyone who intends to take precautions in the event of an unexpected situation that affects their ability to work.
As you saw there at the beginning of the post, right?
However, it is important to understand and consider all conditions before deciding to take out insurance.
After all, in case of need, an indemnity in this sense can be a hand in the wheel.
Hiring is simple and guarantees an additional increase in income at an extremely delicate moment, helping to alleviate suffering and guarantee a better quality of life.
Disability Retirement, likewise, has the power to guarantee the subsistence of the Social Security insured person who, as a result of an accident or illness, is disabled and is no longer able to work.
Therefore, the difference between Disability Life Insurance and Disability Retirement is:
Life Insurance must be contracted , while Disability Retirement, it is only possible to receive those who are affiliated to the General or Own Regime of Social Security, either as an employee (those who work with an Employment Card or public servants ) or as an individual taxpayer.
The Life Insurance for Disability will be in accordance with what you would like to protect yourself in the future, always attentive to situations in which, even with disability, the insurance will not be paid.
Disability retirement , in turn, will be paid if the insured meets the requirements:
- Be affiliated with Social Security;
- Comply with the minimum grace period;
- Be insured or be in the grace period at the time of disability.
Just relying on disability retirement may not be enough to maintain a standard of living and adapt to the new reality, especially after the Social Security Reform that changed the calculation of this benefit.
So taking out disability life insurance might be an option to think about.