Take Time to Evaluate Your Disability Insurance Needs During Disability Insurance Awareness Month

WASHINGTON, May 13 -- The American Council of Life Insurers issued the following news release:

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) joins the LIFE Foundation in urging all Americans to evaluate their disability insurance needs during Disability Insurance Awareness Month in May.

A serious injury or illness can be devastating to a family's financial security. Often times, workers who experience a disability must deplete savings meant for their children's education or their retirement in order to make ends meet. Benefits from a disability income insurance policy can help people avoid depleting these hard-earned savings.

Disability income insurance helps people pay living expenses while they are unable to work. It offers paycheck protection - providing cash for spending on mortgage payments or rent, groceries, and more. In 2011, insurers paid $16.9 billion in disability benefits.

A serious disability can occur more often than people realize. According to the Social Security Administration, a little more than one-in-four 20 year olds will become disabled before they retire. Moreover, U.S. Census Bureau data shows that of the more than 37 million Americans considered to be disabled, more than 50 percent are between the ages of 18 and 64.

Some consumers have disability income insurance through their employer as part of an employee benefits package. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately one-third of workers are covered by disability income insurance. Consumers also can work with an agent or financial advisor to purchase a policy outside of the workplace.

ACLI has published a brochure, in English and Spanish, to help consumers understand how disability income insurance can play an important role in their financial plans. Disability Income Insurance: Financial Protection for You and Your Family is (http://www.acli.com/Consumers/Disability%20Income%20Insurance/Pages/Financial%20Protection.aspx) available on the ACLI website.

For more information on disability insurance and Disability Insurance Awareness Month, visit the LIFE Foundation's Web site at www.lifehappens.org.

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