Disability Income Insurance for Individuals

If you are issued a $10,000 policy and are later totally disabled, the monthly benefit will be $10,000 regardless of income is at the time disability begins, and regardless of other benefits you receive from other sources.  Whatever you buy, that's what the benefit will be.

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After the underwriting process is complete, you can select any policy size up to the amount you financially qualify for.  The maximum amount you financially qualify for can only be determined by sharing your personal story.  It can be estimated up front, and will be confirmed by underwriting after you apply.  

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Taking the example above, in order to qualify for a $10,000 policy most insurers would require around $200,000 in gross annual earnings to qualify.  Once the policy is issued, it doesn't matter what you earn going forward.

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All individual disability income policies pay benefits as a predetermined fixed dollar monthly indemnity amount rather than a percentage of earnings.  Fixed dollar benefits are superior to percentage based benefits because a decline in earnings often precede the claim.  The time period before claim is destabilizing, characterized by gradually reducing performance over a period years or months, with reduced pay due to a downshifting of responsibilities, intermittent absence, and reduced hours.  Only policies with fixed dollar benefits can provide a guarantee that coverage will not be cancelled and hold stable values in an unstable time.

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To keep pace with rising earnings, individual policies can include options to periodically upgrade.  These upgrades are locked in as you go, in ratchet-like movements.

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If future earnings decline, say, due to a personal desire to work in a less stressful job, the policy may very well pay benefits in excess of earnings.  This is known to happen, and insurers let it happen after the policy is issued because the whole point of an individual policy is to hold a constant level of financial security in an unstable time.