If an employee experiences an illness or injury that keeps him or her from being able to work for an extended period of time, disability insurance can help replace a portion of lost income, enabling the employee to continue to pay mortgages and other bills.

Disability insurance is not a required benefit, but it is one that can make a big difference to your employees. Most workers do not carry their own disability coverage, and are at high risk for losing their homes, declaring bankruptcy, defaulting on debts, and losing their standard of living if an injury or illness leaves them unable to work for weeks or months.

Disability insurance also benefits you as an employer. It can help you attract and retain employees. It also can help your employees return to work more quickly after recuperating from an illness or injury and minimize the impact of lost worker time. Workers may be more likely to take the time off they need to fully recover from an illness or injury if they know they can depend on disability insurance to help pay the bills. That means their health issues may be more fully resolved in a shorter amount of time, and they will return to full productivity sooner.