Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you become unable, through injury or illness, to work. Policies differ on how soon you would collect benefits and for how long. They also vary in whether disability benefits are received if you can't perform the duties of your own occupation, a job in your field, or any job at all.

There is at least an eight times greater chance of suffering a disability of at least 90 days as compared to the chances of death (up to age 37). While death may be inevitable, disability is more probable at any given age.To those whose employers do not provide benefits, and self-employed individuals who desire disability coverage, it is a good idea to purchase their own policies on the open market. In general, premiums are higher for policies that provided more monthly benefit, pay the benefit for a longer period of time, and start payments for benefits more quickly following a disability. Premiums also tend to be higher for policies that define disability in broader terms, meaning the policy would pay benefits in a wider variety of circumstances.