How many hard-working Kentuckians can survive without a paycheck for three months? An unexpected illness or serious injury can literally cause you to lose your home, your car, and other valuable assets that you’ve worked your entire life to obtain.

The hard facts are that 1 in 4 working adults will become disabled for at least three months due to an unexpected illness or injury. Recent studies have shown that 68% of working families have no savings set aside to handle the emergency loss of income.

Purchasing both Short-Term and Long-Term Disability insurance is one of the smartest things you can do now to protect you and your family against this risk. Speak with your insurance agent about policy options; check with your employer about a group plan that you may be entitled to join.

Generally speaking, a Short-Term Disability policy will typically pay 60% of your average salary if you are unable to do your regular job due to illness or injury. Those benefits are typically paid for 6 months to a year at which point Long-Term Disability benefits commence. The definition of disability becomes stricter under the Long-Term Disability policy: generally the test is that not only can you not perform the duties of your job but any other job as well.

If you find yourself being unfairly denied Disability benefits, call an attorney. The consultation is often free. There are specific time deadlines to submit medical evidence on your behalf and if a lawsuit is ultimately required to obtain those benefits, the Court will often limit the evidence it considers to that which was filed with the insurance company when it decided the claim. For these reasons, it is very important that you consult an attorney sooner rather than later if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation.