Most people know whether they have disability coverage. Far fewer know what it would pay, for how long, and under what definition.
Definition of disability
Own-occupation coverage pays when you cannot perform your own occupation. Any-occupation coverage pays only when you cannot perform any occupation you are reasonably suited to. For a specialist professional, that difference is enormous.
Many group plans use own-occupation for an initial period, then switch to a broader definition. Check what your plan says and when the change occurs.
Amount, offsets and taxation
Benefit amounts are usually capped, which can leave higher earners covered for a much smaller share of income than they expect.
Offsets reduce the benefit by other income sources. And if your employer pays the premium, the benefit is generally taxable — meaning a stated percentage of income is not what arrives.
Portability
Group coverage generally ends when employment does, often at exactly the point where health changes make new individual coverage harder to obtain.
An individually owned policy stays with you. Review yours before a job change, not after.