How do you know which policy is best for you? Disability insurance (also called “disability income insurance”) is private insurance that replaces some of your Income if an injury or illness prevents you from working. Disability insurance is important because it can ease the financial burden on a household when someone has a serious illness or injury. The main difference between disability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance is that for disability insurance, the injury or illness does not need to be work-related. There are two types of disability insurance:

*Short-Term Disability (STD) pays you a portion of your income for a short period of time after you run out of sick leave. Depending on your plan, STD generally will pay you for between 9 and 104 weeks (or 2 years).

*Long-Term Disability (LTD) pays you a portion of your income after you run out of both sick leave and STD. Depending on your plan, LTD may pay you for a specific number of years, like 2 years or 5 years, or until you turn a specific age, like 65.