Financial wellness for everyone: Income protection
If someone asked you to name your most valuable asset, you might say that it’s your home or car. Yet while these are significant belongings, this answer overlooks the most valuable asset of all: your ability to work and earn an income.
People make sure to have insurance to protect their homes, cars, and other physical assets in case of an emergency. But do you have protection for this intangible asset — your future income? What would happen if you got sick or injured and had to stop working? No one likes to linger on scary thoughts, but having insurance to supplement income during an emergency helps a lot. This is where disability income insurance comes in.
Know the numbers
People tend to think “that won’t happen to me.” That’s understandable since no one wants to think that he or she could face a sudden disability, even for a few months. But according to the Center for Disease Control, over 70 million American adults are living with a disability at any given time. That’s 20% of the US population.1
Disability from illness
Another common misconception is that disability is usually caused by an accident. Of course, accidents happen, but they actually account for only about 10% of the disabilities that cause people to stop working. Surprisingly, the leading causes of long‑term disability claims are illness‑related, not accident‑related.2 This includes illnesses such as heart conditions, depression, multiple sclerosis, and cancer, as well as others.
Income protection
Disability income insurance is sometimes called “income protection” because that’s exactly what it does. It protects your income in the event of a disability by accident or illness. You may have some form of disability income insurance through your employer, but often employer plans may not offer comprehensive coverage. They may only cover a portion of your income in case of emergency. In this case, it’s a good idea to buy individually owned disability income insurance. It will help you bridge your paycheck gap and can help to cover most of your essentials and maybe even some of your extras. Also, your policy will stay with you, even if you change jobs.
An affordable option
How much you will pay for a disability income insurance policy depends on a variety of factors. These include things like your occupation, age, overall health, how much coverage you need, and more. But broadly speaking, disability income insurance is more affordable than people think. It doesn’t take a large portion of your salary to get substantial coverage. Also, the younger you are when you purchase a policy, the less expensive it will be.
Disability income insurance tailored to your needs
It’s also important to know that you can customize your policy to fit your financial reality. For example, if you have monthly student loan payments, you may be able to add a student loan rider to cover these payments through your disability income insurance policy. Additionally, you can buy a noncancelable policy, meaning that the insurance company cannot raise the premiums so long as you pay them on time. There are also policies that include a cost-of-living adjustment, as well as others that factor in your future earnings as your career progresses. Your policy can even include monthly payments to a savings account.
Seventy-three percent of workers feel they have not completely recovered financially from their most recent disability leave.3 In the event you suffer an illness or an injury, you should not have to worry about money. Instead, you want to be able to use your energy to recover. We can work together to find a disability income insurance policy to support you and your household.
Disclaimer:
1 CDC Data Shows Over 70 Million U.S. Adults Reported Having a Disability, Center for Disease Control, September 2024 https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s0716-Adult-disability.html
2 Disability Statistics, The Council for Disability Income Awareness, 2026. https://thecdia.org/disability-statistics/
3 Futureproofing Your Income, Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2025 https://www.guardianlife.com/reports/insuring-your-income
Material discussed is meant for general informational purposes only and is not to be construed as tax, legal, or investment advice. Although the information has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, the information should be relied upon only when coordinated with individual professional advice.
Brought to you by The Guardian Network © 2026. The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America®, New York, NY.
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