The current pandemic has turned life upside down and everyone is holding on the best way they can. Our livelihood is threatened due to economic changes as a result of the stay at home order.
Many businesses remain closed. Small businesses like restaurants and hair salons are challenged to make ends meet. Dental offices that were forced to close are now slowly opening but many dental professionals are not going back. What will you do? Are you prepared to weather an economic storm?
No one plans for disasters but they do happen. We shouldn’t wait until disasters occur to think about our future. We have to strengthen our reserves when we are strong, not when we are weak. This is a sobering reminder of why we need to secure our future the best we can. With injuries common in dental hygiene, and situations like the current pandemic, the chances of missing work due to unforeseen circumstances are real.
Is Disability Insurance the Answer?
Your paycheck pays the bills and puts food on the table but what if you were injured and couldn’t work? Your family’s health and well-being could suffer without your income. Disability insurance provides you with the funds to meet your financial needs when you need it most, and during unprecedented times like the current pandemic.
Today, the absence of emergency savings, rising medical costs, and dental practices typically not paying benefits to workers has created a critical weakness for many workers and their families. Without a source of income protection, more and more people are experiencing devastating financial difficulty if they need to miss work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy.
Consider the following statistics:
At least 51 million working adults in the United States are without disability insurance other than the basic coverage available through Social Security1.
Only 48 percent of American adults indicate they have enough savings to cover three months of living expenses in the event they’re not earning any income2.
Almost half of American adults indicate they can’t pay an unexpected $400 bill without having to take out a loan or sell something to do so3.
These are no doubt scary times for dental hygienists. I designed a survey through Survey Monkey and presented it to dental hygienists on social media. Many are not returning to their dental hygiene jobs because of fear. Too many aerosols, too many uncontrolled variables at this time. Dental hygienists are seeking alternate ways of employment.
But what about the dental hygienists who are staying in the field? What if you got sick? Injured? Or became pregnant? Will your dentist cover the costs for you to stay home and recoup?
Chances of missing work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy are greater than most realize.
More than one in four of today’s 20-year-olds can expect to be out of work for at least a year because of a disabling condition before they reach the normal retirement age4.
5.6 percent of working Americans will experience a short-term disability (six months or less) due to illness, injury, or pregnancy on average every year5.
When you review these statistics, add an unexpected crisis, like the current pandemic, having disability insurance could help you to have a piece of mind and weather any storm that comes your way.
How can disability insurance help you and your family in case you are injured or sick and unable to work?
Ask Mike Romanello from Pro Financial Network. He has been in the the finance business for almost 20 years and can help you determine which financial path that best suits your needs. Contact his office at: info@profinancial.biz
Michael G. Romanello is a licensed securities broker located in Westlake, Ohio.
1. American Council of Life Insurers, unpublished data from study released in September 2017 as Assessing Americans’ Financial and Retirement Security. ACLI found that 54.3% of non-retired households (51.3 million in total) did not report having disability insurance. Assuming there is at least one adult in each household, this means the number of “uncovered” adults is at least equal to the number of “uncovered” households.
2. Federal Reserve, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2016 (PDF), page 26.
3. Ibid
4. Social Security Administration, Disability and Death Probability Tables for Insured Workers Born in 1997, Table A.
5. Integrated Benefits Institute, Health and Productivity Benchmarking 2016 (released November 2017), Short-Term Disability, All Employers. Group average for new claims per 100 covered lives.
