Does Short Term Disability Insurance pay benefits for pregnancy?

Employer-based short term disability insurance does cover pregnancy, whereas it varies with individual policies. Most individual policies cover disability due to complications, but not normal pregnancy. Among individual policies that cover pregnancy more broadly, the way group insurance does, Elimination Periods are longer (i.e., 90 days).

Short Term Disability Insurance
For Individuals

For a market survey of options based on non-personal information, fill in the drop-down fields. Results will display instantly.

Table 1
Short Term Disability Insurance

Protects income with a weekly benefit as opposed to monthly benefit.

Insurer, Policy Form ID	Variant	Benefit Amount	Elimination Period	Benefit Period	Monthly Premium
Assurity, ICC20-IH2016-AO	Accident Only	$500 per week	0 days	13 weeks	$8.77
Assurity, ICC20-IH2016-AO	Accident Only	$500 per week	0 days	26 weeks	$13.05
Assurity, ICC20-IH2016-AO	Accident Only	$750 per week	0 days	13 weeks	$13.15
Assurity, ICC20-IH2016-AS	Accident and Sickness	$750 per week	14 days	13 weeks	$16.51

The Elimination Period is how long it takes before benefits begin to accrue, as measured from the beginning of disability.

Table 2
Accident Insurance with a Disability Income Rider

Insurer, Policy Form ID	Selections Included	Benefit Amount from DI Rider	Elimination Period	Benefit Period	Monthly Premium	Exclusions and More...

Table 3
Cancer Insurance

Insurer, Policy Form ID	Selections Included	Benefit Amount	Elimination Period	Monthly Premium	Exclusions and More...

Where To Go From Here

So far, the inputs are non-personal in nature. That's enough information to get an idea of what cost universe we're talking about, but not enough to base a purchasing decision on because pricing and availability also depend on your individual needs and qualifications, such as:

Occupational considerations: How you work, including responsibilities, specialization, work environment, and skill sets you depend on to perform at the top of your game
How established you are in your career
Employment: Employer profile, whether you are self-employed or a regular W-2 employee, how long you've been there, hours per week, and whether you have any side-gigs
Career expectations: possible employment moves, likely earnings trajectory, projected number of years to work out of financial necessity, and aspirations for self employment or breaks to raise a family
Earnings: including amount, type, prior years, volatility, and whether there would be any significant lag time to dwindle (or rebuild after recovery)
Other existing disability coverage, if any
For business owners only: is there also business overhead to maintain (e.g., rent, payroll), and do you have business partners that may need to buy you out
Is relocation to a foreign country in the cards
Lifestyle (e.g., travel, recreation, substances)
Health
Where you are in this journey, including prior declines, offers, or pending inquiries
Any underwriting requirements you prefer to avoid

Occupational considerations and health are the primary drivers of policy design and placement strategy. But neither of these can be mapped with automated systems (yet) due to the complexity of individual variables and that the guidelines vary from one carrier to the next. This is especially true for health history, which is too sensitive to disclose online in the first place.

There are different ways to get started in providing this information. You can send a note, call, or answer a few unintrusive starter questions by intake form. Health information cannot be provided using the intake form method, but if you're hoping to get a head start, refer to the off-line medical history questionnaire. What you share will stay just between us.