Short Term/Long Term Disability Insurance Recommendations?

It can be expensive and most of it will not cover you if you do certain things like sky diving, motocross, etc so make sure YOU read the policy, because the insurance agent will lie to you and say everything is covered. I am lucky because I get disability from work but my wife has to buy hers and its pricey. Mine will pay be 80% of my salary and its a big company and costs me nothing and I am covered while I am on a race bike.

General advice from experience.

Shop around. See what the best policy for YOU and your budget is. I've had some agents/financial planners try to sell me wayyy too much coverage and be very aggressive about it. Don't be afraid to ask to see what is covered and what is not. You might get push back, some agents don't like that and just want you to buy what they first offer no questions asked.(they just want their large commissions) But you wouldn't buy any other item before knowing EXACTLY what you are buying. If they don't want to give you details, tell them thank you and move on. There are many insurance agents/financial planners that are very experienced and good out there.

If your employer doesn't offer STD don't buy it on the open market. It is expensive for the coverage. I recommend my clients self insure with their emergency fund (3-6 months of income). Purchase LTD (cost about 3% of your income) to protect about 90% of your after tax take home pay. There are several options to these plans that can effect the coverage and cost.

My thoughts are that you can recover financially from a STD, but you can not recover from a LTD. Spend your money on insurance for the things you can't recover from.