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Disability insurance for the self-employed
Insure you can stay afloat with either a short-term or long-term disability insurance policy.
Statistics show that one in four Americans will become temporarily disabled at some point in their careers and will be forced to take time off work. While many businesses offer disability policies to their employees, self-employed individuals don’t have that luxury. However, you can still purchase an individual disability insurance policy.
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Updated November 21st, 2019
Can I get disability insurance if I’m self-employed?
Yes, and some companies will require you to prove you’ve earned sufficient income for two years before you can buy a long term disability policy.
If you are thinking about becoming self-employed but still have a regular job, you can still purchase a policy before making the jump to self-employment.
How much coverage do I need?
The simple answer is, as much as you can afford. It’s important to note that disability policies rarely offer 100% income replacement. The typical range is between 40% to 80%, with the amount depending on the type of policy you choose.
To get a dollar amount, you’ll need to look at a few things:
- Your monthly salary
- The minimum amount you’ll need to keep your business running
- How much your dependents require
Knowing these things will help you decide the bare minimum you’ll need to replace if you become disabled.
Short-term disability insurance for the self-employed
Short-term disability is meant to replace a percentage of your income if you miss work for a brief time due to an illness or injury, usually between a couple of weeks to six weeks, and sometimes longer. There are many options that you can customize to fit your needs, from the percentage of income replaced, the length of coverage time and the elimination period.
Short-term disability plans can replace anywhere from 30% to 100% of your income, though the normal range is 40% to 70%. There are also waiting-period options ranging from seven to 90 days after an injury or sickness before you start collecting on your policy.
Long-term disability insurance for the self-employed
Long-term disability is designed to cover injuries or illnesses that result in being unable to work for over 180 days. The normal benefit period where you can collect the money is between two to 10 years, and some companies offer a plan that pays until you reach retirement age.
Long-term plans typically cover between 50% to 80% of your income during the benefit period. Just like with a short-term plan, you’ll have your choice of elimination periods. The waiting-period options can range from 30 days to a year, and sometimes longer.
How much does disability insurance cost for self-employed workers?
A general rule of thumb is that disability insurance policies cost between 1% to 3% of your annual income. However, premiums for disability insurance vary based on many factors:
- Age. The younger you are, the lower premiums you’ll pay. This is because the younger you are, the less likely you are to become disabled due to an injury or illness.
- Occupation. High-risk occupations that have a greater chance of causing injury are priced much higher than low-risk occupations.
- Gender. Men generally pay higher premiums than women, in part because they tend to work in riskier professions.
- Health. If you’re in poor health, you’ll pay higher premiums than someone without health issues.
- Policy type. The length of the benefit period, benefit percentage and elimination period you choose highly affects your rate.
Is disability insurance tax-deductible if I’m self-employed?
Whether or not your disability insurance is tax-deductible depends on the type of legal business structure you have.
- Sole proprietor. You cannot deduct disability insurance premiums if you are a sole proprietor. However, the benefit money from the policy is taxed.
- LLC. You can deduct disability insurance premiums from your taxes as an LLC. Doing so might pass the taxes on as income tax to the employee or shareholder who collects the benefit.
- S-corporation. S-corps can deduct the premiums from their taxes on employees or shareholders who own more than 2% of the business.
- C-corporation. C-corps can only deduct the premiums on employees that it pays the premiums for. If the deduction is included in the employee’s income, then the benefit amount will be tax-free.
Bottom line
Having disability insurance can be the difference between saving your business and being forced to close if you become ill or injured for an extended period of time. Disability policies provide the income you need to keep your business afloat or maintain your lifestyle. Before purchasing a disability insurance policy, it’s important to do research on your provider options.
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