The only way to have pregnancy covered is with a group STD plan which must be obtained by an employer sponsored plan. The plan does not have to be funded by the employer but does need to be setup through the employer. Additionally, pregnancy will be excluded for the first 9-12 months after the coverage effective date. This is specifically intended to protect insurance companies from this type of risk.

So although it is a very good idea for women to have Disability insurance, it is not quite as simple as Marci makes it sound to actually collect on claims for pregnancy.

You seem to be very educated on Disability insurance. I guess that’s what comes with 40 years of experience. Although I do not have 40 years to back me, I also have taken the challenge of specializing in Disability insurance. It is quite a relief to read something written by someone who actually knows what they are talking about. It is painful to say that somewhere around 85% of the people licensed to sell Disability insurance have no concept of what makes a quality contract consists of.

I wanted to add one thing to an important point you have made a few times, which is that group coverage will often not follow you if your job situation changes. This is particularly important in the current economy. Changes in a person’s job circumstances are not always voluntary and we all know that people are losing their jobs and benefits every day. In response to this, I am finding that a lot of people are simply becoming independent contractors while they continue to search for a new job. For someone in this type of situation, group coverage will not do very much. The individual supplemental policy with a Future Increase Option or Guaranteed Increase Option, like Time discussed, certainly will.

It is somewhat painful to be in the insurance business and see how many people believe they are invincible and will remain healthy forever. Disability insurance protects our most valuable asset – the ability to work and earn an income. A 40-year old earning $100K salary who plans to work to age 65 has $2.5 million of income on the line. That’s an awfully large amount of money to not properly insure.

John – Finding a good website to shop for Disability insurance is actually fairly difficult. There are a lot of lead vendors out there that will sell your information to random insurance agents. Be careful in who you do business with. It is much more important to find a Disability specialist (preferably a broker) that is actually knowledgeable and able to educate and assist you in obtaining coverage, than it is to try speaking with 10 different agents. Shopping for Disability insurance is not about finding the best price. The true way to shop for Disability insurance is by looking for the strongest contract first and then distinguishing which company can provide it to you at the most competitive price. Here are two sites that may be helpful for starters: http://www.mrdisabilityquotes.com and http://www.disabilityquotes.com

You should know that most insurance agents out there do not know very much about Disability insurance. They are licensed to sell it but probably should not be. I speak with people on a daily basis who have been advised to buy a contract that I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy. Take your time, do your homework and find an actual Disability insurance specialist to speak with.
Being in this field and having my own website, I can honestly say that there are about 4 or 5 sites worth visiting. Most of them are not really helpful.