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Breeze disability insurance review 2023
Backed by an insurance giant, this startup offers disability coverage online — without credit checks.
finder.com’s rating: 3.5 / 5.0
★★★★★
- Consider Breeze if… You want to apply for disability coverage online.
- Look elsewhere if… You need short-term disability insurance, or you live in New York.
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No
Short term disability
Yes
Long term disability
Details
| Benefit period | 1, 2, 5, or 10 years or until age 65 or 67 |
|---|---|
| Waiting period | 30 - 365 days |
| Coverage amount | $500 to $20,000 |
| Individual credit | |
| Available states | All states except New York |
| Policy riders |
No info available |
| Simplified issue |
No |
Pros
- Get instant disability coverage online
- Online benefit recommendation
Cons
- No short term disability options
- Must enter payment info early
Review by
Katia Iervasi
katia.iervasi@finder.comKatia Iervasi is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in insurance. Her writing and analysis on life, disability and health insurance has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, Yahoo, Entrepreneur, Best Company and FT Advisor. She holds a BA in communication from Australia's Griffith University.
Expert review
Breeze is making a splash in the insurance scene thanks to its online application process. It offers a single product — long-term disability insurance — and its base policy is packed with features that you often need to pay for with other companies. But if you’re in need of short-term disability insurance or want to chat to a human before getting a quote, it may not be the best option for you.
As always, it’s worth comparing disability insurance companies to get the best rate.
Built-in benefits and available policy riders
Benefits
- Waiver of premium. Breeze will waive your premium if you’ve been totally disabled for the waiting period or 90 days — whichever is shorter.
- Partial disability. Breeze will waive your premium if you’ve been totally disabled for the waiting period or 90 days — whichever is shorter.
- Presumptive disability. Breeze will dismiss the waiting period and pay your benefits immediately if you lose your eyesight, hearing, speech or limbs.
- Home modification. Do you need to alter your home as a result of your disability? Your policy will cover those costs.
- Vocational rehab. Breeze will pay for an accredited vocational rehab program once you’ve been receiving disability benefits for six months.
- Organ donor benefit. If you become disabled after donating an organ or bone marrow, Breeze will step in to help — as long as your policy has been in effect for six months.
- Survivor benefit. If you die after becoming disabled and receiving benefits for at least 12 months, your policy will cut your beneficiaries a check of six times the monthly benefit.
Riders
- Guaranteed insurability. With this rider, you have the option to increase your base policy monthly benefit by buying extra insurance.
- Residual disability rider. This pays the residual monthly benefit if you’re disabled and the waiting period has passed. The benefit is based on a percentage of your loss of prior income.
- Catastrophic disability benefit. If you’re cognitively impaired and have trouble tackling daily activities, this rider will help you to hire assistance.
- Critical illness benefit. The insurer will cover some of the medical costs if you’re diagnosed with a critical illness like cancer, paralysis or kidney failure
- Automatic benefit increase. After a year of monthly disability benefits payments, this rider will increase the base monthly benefit by 5% for every year the benefits remain continuously payable. The benefit caps out when the payment reaches double its original amount.
- Non-cancelable rider. As the name suggests, this rider makes sure that the insurer can’t change your policy or riders
- Supplemental DI rider. This pays a monthly benefit minus any social security benefits received if you’re totally disabled.
What kind of jobs does Breeze cover?
The insurer offers disability insurance for people whose jobs fall under these categories:
- Professional — e.g. accountant, architect, programmer, real estate agent
- Technical — e.g. dental hygienist, event planner, nurse
- Light labor — e.g. beautician, carpenter, electrician
- Labor — e.g. construction worker, roofer, removalist
The insurer won’t cover a handful of occupations, including: athletes, authors, entertainers, longshoremen, pilots, self-employed artists and military members.
Pros and cons of Breeze disability insurance
Pros
- Get instant disability coverage online. In less than 10 minutes you can get a quote, apply for coverage and receive approval, without ever speaking to a rep. Breeze uses automated underwriting technology to keep all applications quick and online.
- Online benefit recommendation. Using your income and basic info, Breeze calculates a recommended benefit level and waiting period. Most insurers don’t offer this kind of insight without speaking to a rep.
Cons
- No short term disability options. If you need short term coverage, you’ll have to look for a separate policy with a different insurer.
- Must enter payment info early. Breeze requires you to put a credit card on file in order to move forward with your application. However, you aren’t charged until you accept coverage and it promises that there aren’t any hidden fees.
Breeze disability insurance reviews and complaints
Since Breeze just launched in mid-2019, it doesn’t have much of an online presence yet — though it has gotten a lot of positive press attention for its streamlined approach to disability insurance.
In terms of customer reviews, Breeze has 4.7 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot, with all customers commenting on how easy it was to get coverage, as of October 2020.
Its underwriter, Assurity, has a well-established reputation in the insurance world. Assurity has been accredited with the Better Business Bureau since 1992, and has an A+ rating for its customer service and operations.
Breeze’s financial strength
When it comes to insurance, a company’s financial footing is very important because your claim may not be paid out for years or even decades to come. Breeze’s policies are underwritten by Assurity, an insurance giant with strong ratings and over $2.6 billion in assets — making Breeze a secure choice for disability insurance.
| Agency | Rating |
|---|---|
| AM Best | A- (Excellent) |
| Moody’s | N/A |
| Standard & Poor’s | N/A |
| Fitch | N/A |
| J.D. Power | N/A |
How do I sign up for Breeze disability insurance?
You can apply for coverage online, and the application takes around 10 minutes to complete. Follow these steps:
- Head to the Breeze website and click Get My Quote.
- Enter your birthdate.
- Select your gender.
- Confirm your annual income.
- Choose the category your current job falls under: Professional, Technical, Light Labor or Labor.
- Type in your ZIP code.
- Indicate whether you use nicotine.
- The system will generate a few quotes for you, and recommend a benefit period and waiting period based on the information you provided. If you’re happy with one of the quotes, click Apply Now. Otherwise, press More Coverage Options and adjust the coverage as needed.
If you have any questions as you’re working through the application, you can call 402-522-6658.
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More about Breeze disability insurance
Breeze is a fintech startup that specializes in disability insurance. Founded in 2019, it’s the first company to offer disability insurance products with a fully online application. Its policies are automated and underwritten by Assurity.
Frequently asked questions about Breeze
Disability insurance ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Our experts analyze disability insurance companies to help you find the best income protection policy for you.
We assess each company’s financial strength and customer satisfaction, as well as policy features, benefit and elimination periods and available riders. We then give each insurer a score between one and five stars that reflects available options and industry reputation.
