Survey shows American workforce unprepared for new long term disability insurance benefits

Insurance Customer Service

insurance newsStudy indicates that many full time workers have not prepared for their potential risks.

Despite the fact that medical expenses are a factor that contributes to approximately 50 percent of all home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies within the United States, the majority of the country’s full time workforce has not adequately planned for the risks that are covered by long term disability insurance.

This, according to a study for the Sun Life Financial Inc’s American business group.

The report on the study was entitled “Will workers in America hope to dodge the bullet, remain blind to the risks, or simply hide? Perceptions, misconceptions, and best practices about long-term disability”. The survey itself included the participation of more than 2,000 employees across the country. It was conducted by Kelton Research

What was found was that a huge portion of the U.S. workforce is not ready to compensate for the changes occurring in workplace benefits.

The majority of employers are now giving their employees the choice as to whether or not they would like to buy into group benefits such as life, vision, dental, and disability coverage. The study is showing that not all workers are making the choices that would be required to ensure that they have adequate protection should they be faced with an illness or injury that stops them from being able to work for the long-term.

According to a junior vice president of voluntary benefits at Sun Life, Robert E. Klein “We must educate the U.S. workforce to understand the financial risks of long-term disability and learn best practices to mitigate their risks.” He added that “If ten couples gather for a barbecue, we estimate that roughly three of them will have a partner who experiences a disability lasting one year or longer during their professional lifetimes.”

Among the main findings of the research were that:

• More than one in three employees who had been offered group disability coverage from their employers had declined it – leaving most of them uninsured.
• Employees younger than fifty years old, men, and minorities, as well as tech workers, were more likely to have purchased coverage than other respondents.
• At least one in every three respondents did not have long term disability insurance.

 

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