Americans Roll the Dice with Their Most Valuable Asset – Their Income

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Business Weekly -- The chances of being the victim of a home robbery are one in 361; however, the chances of becoming disabled and losing income during the course of one's career is one in four. 2 In spite of this, the results from a recent Anthem, Inc. survey show only 40 percent of Americans have disability insurance to protect their incomes.

The survey, conducted by Anthem, Inc. to commemorate May as Disability Insurance Awareness Month, underscores the discrepancy in what Americans perceive as potential threats to their well-being and what they do about those threats.

According to the survey, 99 percent of people take significant steps to protect their homes, including locking doors and windows (90 percent), having homeowners' or renters' insurance (74 percent), using an alarm system (39 percent) or even having a vicious-sounding dog (31 percent). However, they overlook the protection that comes from disability insurance.

"At Anthem, it's our job to help people protect against the things they can't predict," said Mike Wozny, president of Anthem's Life and Disability business. "Income is an important part of a family's well-being and protecting income is an important part of financial health. This protection can come from items like disability insurance."

So, how are Americans trying to protecting their incomes if not with disability insurance? While nine out of 10 Americans say they do take steps to protect their incomes - and three quarters say they have savings - only three quarters of those with savings (75 percent) say they could meet their expenses for at least six months. Moreover, one in four (24 percent) Americans say they have no savings at all and, without work, would be unable to pay bills for even one month.

"Anthem's disability benefits help protect a person's paycheck - and more," said Wozny. "As one of the nation's leading benefit companies, we recognize that a person's emotional and physical well-being are important to helping them get back on their feet. For that reason, not only do we help people with their finances, but we also offer face-to-face counseling and legal and financial counsel."

May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, and you can find information about how people can protect their income with disability insurance at www.antheminc.com.

This report presents the findings of a telephone omnibus survey using the field services of Opinion Research Corporation, from April 16-20, 2015. The study was conducted using two probability samples: randomly selected landline telephone numbers and randomly selected mobile (cell) telephone numbers. The combined sample consists of 1,010 adults (18 years old and older) living in the continental United States. Of the 1,010 interviews, 508 were from the landline sample and 502 from the cell phone sample.

The margin of error for the sample of 1,010 is ± 3.08 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. This means that if we were to replicate the study, we would expect to get the same results within 3.08 percentage points 95 times out of 100. About Anthem, Inc. Anthem is working to transform health care with trusted and caring solutions. Our health plan companies deliver quality products and services that give their members access to the care they need. With nearly 71 million people served by its affiliated companies, including more than 38 million enrolled in its family of health plans, Anthem is one of the nation's leading health benefits companies. For more information about Anthem's family of companies, please visit www.antheminc.com/companies. 1 FBI 2012 crime report - http://www.asecurelife.com/burglary-statistics/ 2 U.S. Social Security Administration, Fact Sheet February 7, 2013 - http://www.disabilitycanhappen.org/chances_disability/disability_stats.asp

Keywords for this news article include: Anthem Inc., Investment and Finance.

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