Americans Not Protecting Themselves with Disability Insurance

Author: Principal Financial Group
Published: 2010/05/13
Topic: Disability Insurance - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main

Synopsis: Three-fourths of workers rate the emotional impact of becoming disabled and not being able to work for a living as high.

Introduction

Despite Fears, Americans Aren't Protecting Themselves - Three-fourths of workers rate the emotional impact of becoming disabled and not being able to work for a living as high, according to the latest results from the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM.

Main Item

These workers gave it at least an eight on a 10-point scale in which 10 means "devastated."

Yet, nearly half (49 percent) don't own or plan to buy disability insurance in the next year and say instead they plan to rely on their family, disability insurance from their employer or savings in the event of a disability.

"Many people recognize the emotional and financial impact of becoming disabled, but they tend to underestimate the consequences of not having adequate income protection," said Kevin Farley, vice president of Specialty Benefits for the Principal Financial Group. "Throughout May, we want to focus on educating financial professionals and their clients about the importance of protecting their income as a way to ensure individuals have income to live on and can continue to save for the future should they experience a disabling illness or injury."

To help Americans construct long-term financial security plans, The Principal is collaborating with the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) to promote Disability Insurance Awareness Month this May.

Education for financial professionals

A new website, www.principal.com/DIAwareness gives financial professionals access to a number of tools and educational materials to help them educate themselves and their clients about the importance of income protection. The site offers videos on a variety of disability-related topics ranging from underwriting to policy basics to the general need for disability insurance. The videos complement a number of other resources including a bank of industry statistics, testimonials, seminars and even a focused study group for financial professionals.

"Financial professionals play a critical role in helping Americans recover from the financial crisis by making sure Americans are not just rebuilding, but also protecting their financial future," noted Farley.

Education for consumers

To help consumers identify any gaps in their protection plan, The Principal also offers an innovative program to educate consumers on disability and life insurance. This program is called "From Here to SecuritySM," and it provides easy-to-read materials that include definitions, examples, statistics and personal needs-analysis tools. Insurance calculators allow individuals to run "what if" scenarios to determine any protection gaps in their individual situation.

For more information about disability insurance or the From Here to SecuritySM program, visit www.principal.com/disabilitysecure.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group (The Principal )1 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $293.4 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 18.7 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

This Well-Being Index survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Principal Financial Group between January 28 and February 8, 2010 among 1,067 employees and 614 retirees. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available at www.principal.com/wellbeing/

Disability Insurance has certain limitations and exclusions. For costs and complete details of coverage, contact your Principal Life Representative.

Insurance issued by Principal Life Insurance Company, a member of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, Iowa 50392

1 "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

2 As of March 31, 2010

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Citing and References

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Cite This Page: Principal Financial Group. (2010, May 13). Americans Not Protecting Themselves with Disability Insurance. Disabled World (DW). Retrieved April 21, 2025 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/insurance/disability-insurance-protection.php

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