Mutual of Omaha has the best long-term disability insurance in 2024. It offers monthly benefits up to $20,000, short elimination periods, lengthy benefit periods and both long and short-term disability coverage.
If you buy the right disability insurance policy, it can help replace part of your income while you’re unable to work, sometimes for years. We analyzed dozens of disability insurers to determine the best ones. Learn more about Mutual of Omaha and other insurers that made our list of the best long-term disability insurance companies.
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Top-rated disability insurance companies in 2024
Why trust our disability insurance experts
Our team of disability insurance experts evaluates hundreds of insurance products and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best product for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
9 companies analyzed.
126 data points compared.
5 levels of fact-checking.
Best disability insurance companies of June 2024
Best disability insurance
Why it’s the best
Mutual of Omaha has the best disability insurance among the providers we analyzed. Mutual Income Solutions, its long-term disability income policy, offers up to $20,000 in disability income for qualified applications aged 18 to 61. Benefit periods range starts at six months, but you can choose a policy that lasts until you reach age 70. Waiting periods from 30 to 730 days are available.
You can further customize your long-term disability insurance by selecting a non-cancelable or guaranteed renewable coverage and choosing from two optional benefits available at no cost: The automatic increase benefit, which increases your benefit by 4% each year, or the future insurability option, which increases your monthly benefit every three years after polity purchase.
Best for discounts
Why it’s the best
Ameritas offers several ways to lower the cost of coverage, making it the best disability insurance company for discounts. Discounts are available for a variety of individuals, including those who have association and affinity memberships, apply for coverage online or follow certain academic tracks, such as medical and dental interns and residents.
The DInamic Cornerstone Income Protection plan from Ameritas provides up to $30,000 per month for eligible income earners. You can choose a benefit period from two years or until age 67. The plan has elimination periods as short as 30 days for policies of one to five years and 90 days for policies with longer benefit terms. Ameritas rewards good health by shortening the elimination period by two days for each year you don’t file a claim, up to 30 days.
The DInamic Cornerstone Income Protection plan also has two very valuable free benefits. If you get injured and require medical treatment but aren’t disabled, Ameritas will advance $500 of your monthly benefit. You also get the COBRA premium benefit, which will provide up to $1,000 monthly for COBRA health insurance premiums if you’re let go from your job because of your disability.
You can also add riders, such as the future increase option, automatic increase, catastrophic disability or student loan repayment (up to $2,500 per month) rider.
Best for high-risk occupations
Why it’s the best
Assurity Life Insurance Company’s Century+ plan is the best disability insurance for high-risk occupations, according to our analysis. It offers workers in risky trades, like carpenters, electricians, farmers and mechanics, up to $10,000 in long-term disability insurance benefits. Depending on your age and benefit amount, you may qualify for coverage without a medical exam.
Eligible individuals between 18 and 60 can apply for the Century+ plan. Depending on your occupational class, you can choose a benefit period from one to 10 years or up until you are 65 or 67 years old. The policy is guaranteed renewable up to age 65 or 67 and conditionally renewable to age 75.
You can further customize your policy with a long list of riders offered, such as critical illness benefit, residual disability, retroactive injury, return of premium and supplemental disability income riders.
Best for disability insurance for customization
Why it’s the best
MassMutual’s Radius Choice is the best disability insurance for customization. It offers a list of riders that you can add to your policy to extend coverage to address multiple financial protection needs.
The Radius Choice policy offers 12 riders you can add to your policy to make it fit your specific disability insurance needs. These riders include coverage for benefit increases, catastrophic disability, cost of living adjustment (COLA), future insurability, short-term disability insurance and repaying student loan debt while totally disabled.
This disability insurance plan is available to individuals 18 to 64 (60 in Florida). The Radius Choice policy is highly customizable, with a range of waiting periods from 60 to 730 days and benefit periods from two years or when you hit age 70.
As long as you make payments, your policy cannot be canceled until you reach 65. After that, you can renew the plan annually until you reach 75 and meet certain conditions.
Best for simplified underwriting
Principal Financial Group
Why it’s the best
If you’re looking for a streamlined, no-fuss underwriting process, consider Principal Financial Group’s Principal Income Protector disability insurance. Its simplified underwriting process is available for people age 51 or younger for monthly benefits up to $10,000. You’ll answer a few questions from a Principal financial professional, complete a telephone interview and receive a decision in just a few days.
The Principal disability policies can be issued to eligible applicants ages 18 to 60. Benefit periods range from two years to age 70, with an elimination period of 60 to 365 days. The policy is non-cancelable as long as you continue to make payments and is conditionally renewable for life. You can also take the plan with you if you change jobs.
No-cost riders include annual increase coverage and presumptive disability benefits for conditions like total loss of speech (with no possibility of recovery), loss of sight in both eyes or loss of use of hands or feet. You can also pay for riders, such as catastrophic disability, cost of living adjustment (COLA), residual disability and recovery, short-term residual disability and death benefit (a lump sum is paid if you die while receiving disability benefits).
Compare the best disability insurance companies of 2024
We analyzed insurers that sell individual long-term disability insurance policies to determine the best disability insurance companies. Each disability insurance company was eligible for up to 100 points, based on long-term disability insurance policy performance in the following key categories:
Maximum monthly benefit options: 25 points. Long-term disability policies with a maximum monthly benefit of $30,000 per month received full points.
Short elimination period options: 25 points. Long-term disability policies with elimination periods as short as 30 days available received the maximum amount of points.
Length of benefit period options – up to age 70: 25 points. Long-term disability policies with benefit periods of up to 70 years old received the maximum amount of points.
Length of benefit period options – 10 years: 10 points. Long-term disability policies with length of benefits periods of 10 years available received full points.
Online quotes available: 10 points. Disability insurance companies that allow you to get a quote online without needing to speak to a financial representative received full points.
Short-term disability available: 5 points. Disability insurance companies that also sell short-term disability insurance received full points.
How much does disability insurance cost?
Disability insurance typically costs between 1% and 3% of your annual income. So if you earn $50,000 per year, your annual premium may be between $500 and $1,500, or $60 and $125 per month.
There are several factors that determine your overall cost of disability insurance.
Monthly benefit amount, or how much the disability insurance policy will pay each month if you’re unable to work.
Benefit period. Long-term policies generally provide benefits for one to 10 years or until a specific age, such as 65 or 70.
Elimination period, or the waiting period between when you become disabled and when your benefits kick in. Elimination periods are commonly between 30 and 365 days, though it may be as long as 730.
Your age and gender. Women typically pay more for disability insurance than men when they’re younger due to the potential for pregnancy complications and extended disability claim periods, while men pay more as they age.
Health. If you smoke, are in poor health or have a personal or family history of chronic illnesses, you’ll pay more for disability insurance.
Profession. High-income earners and those in high-risk professions are more likely to file a disability insurance claim, so these individuals pay more for coverage.
Best long-term disability insurance
The best long-term disability insurance is from Mutual of Omaha, according to our analysis of individual long-term disability insurance policies. It’s the only disability insurance company that earns 5 stars in our rating.
Mutual of Omaha’s long-term disability policies come with built-in benefits like:
Coverage suspension if you become activated as a military member.
Full benefits for your benefit period window if you become permanently disabled.
Premium waiver after you reach the shorter of your selected elimination period or 90 days.
Recurrent disability coverage which waives the elimination period if a disability recurs within six months or you become newly disabled within 30 days.
Survivor benefit if you pass away while receiving disability insurance benefits.
Transplant donor benefits if you become disabled while donating tissue or an organ.
Whether you’re an employee looking for individual long-term disability coverage, self-employed or a small business owner, Mutual of Omaha is one of the best disability insurance providers for your coverage needs.
Best short-term disability insurance
Of the companies we analyzed, State Farm is the only provider that offers an individual short-term disability insurance plan. The policy will pay up to $3,000 in benefits for one or three years. You can choose a 30, 60 or 90-day elimination period. Its long-term disability insurance policy will pay up to $20,000 in benefits for five years or until age 67.
You can also purchase a long-term policy from Mutual of Omaha or Illinois Mutual with a short-term benefits period of six months. You can get an online quote from these companies, but State Farm doesn’t offer online quotes for disability insurance.
All three disability insurance providers have a strong financial strength rating, which shows they have a solid reputation for being able to pay claims.
What is disability insurance and how does it work?
Disability insurance pays a portion of your lost income if you cannot work due to a covered injury or illness.
Short-term disability insurance covers a percentage of your income for a short time, often three to six months, but sometimes longer.
Long-term disability insurance can provide some income replacement for years, even into retirement, if you qualify.
You don’t have to pay back disability benefits and they are not taxable if you pay your premiums with post-tax dollars.
Once enrolled in an individual disability insurance plan, you’ll pay monthly premiums based on factors like your age, occupation, income and coverage. If you experience a disabling event like an injury, sickness or pregnancy and cannot work, you’ll receive a portion of your income until you’re able to return to work or no longer qualify for coverage.
How to get disability insurance
You can typically get disability insurance in one of two ways:
Through your employer as a group policy.
Directly through a private disability insurance company, either by contacting the company or working with an insurance agent or broker.
If you have paid Social Security taxes and become too ill or injured to work, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), if you have worked long enough and recently enough. However, it can take up to a year to get approved for SSDI, and it’s not uncommon to get denied, after which you must apply for reconsideration and start the process over again.
Even if you get approved, the average 2023 SSDI benefit for American workers is only $1,483. Depending on your income, age, gender and other factors, you may qualify for more.
What to look for in a long-term disability policy
When comparing long-term disability policies, pay close attention to the benefit period and elimination window.
Expert tip: Neal Patel, Disability Income Specialist at Guardian Life Insurance, advises that you make sure your selections align with your savings so you’ll be able to pay your bills and expenses while waiting for coverage to kick in. Your benefit period should be long enough to recover from a serious injury or extended illness without returning to work before you’re ready.
Inflation coverage, partial and catastrophic disability benefits are important benefits to consider.
A family care benefit — that pays if you take time off or lose income while caring for a loved one who is seriously ill or injured — may also help you decide which long-term disability policy is the best choice.
You should also understand the definition of disability the insurance company uses.
Own-occupation coverage will cover you if you can’t perform your job duties, but could work elsewhere.
Any occupation disability will only pay out if you can’t perform any job tasks at all.
An own-occupation policy may cost more but will allow you to collect benefits while disabled, even if you can work in a different capacity.
Disability insurance in real life
A few years ago, my husband was involved in a car accident where he sustained severe injuries. He’s a mechanic and was unable to work for three months. Luckily, he had a group disability insurance plan through his work, and we were able to file a disability claim.
Although his premiums were expensive — around $75 per week — it was well worth the cost. His disability checks were enough to keep all our bills current and allow me to take some time off work to care for him. He could focus on recovering, and neither of us was stressed about him getting back to work until he was ready because we had the disability insurance policy in place when he got hurt.
Mandy Sleight
Who needs disability insurance?
There are several people who can benefit from a disability insurance policy, including:
The sole earner in a household.
Parents who have minor children who rely on their income.
Individuals who have physically demanding occupations.
Individuals who are prone to certain conditions or injuries.
Certain milestones or life events often prompt individuals to purchase life insurance, as indicated in the chart below.
In the United States, millennials and members of Generation Z are most likely to carry disability insurance, while members of the Boomer generation are least likely to.
How much disability insurance do I need?
You need enough monthly disability insurance to cover your expenses if you’re injured and unable to work for an extended period of time. The tips below can help you choose the right coverage amount:
Add up all your expenses, such as your mortgage or rent, food, debt payments, utilities and other bills, like insurance policies.
Determine what other sources of income are available to cover your financial obligations. This can include savings accounts, emergency funds, sick or personal leave time through your employer and a spouse’s income.
Consider how long you can wait for benefits. Longer elimination periods, or wait periods, will lower your monthly disability insurance premiums, but make sure it’s not too long that you or your family will suffer financially.
Best disability insurance FAQs
Is disability insurance worth getting?
Disability insurance could be worth it if you don’t have enough other income sources besides your paycheck or self-employment income to pay your bills and expenses.
According to the Social Security Administration, 20-year-olds have a 25% chance of becoming disabled before they reach retirement age. While some may recover quickly, others may never recover fully or at all.
Even if you qualify for SSDI, the benefit amount may not be enough to replace your lost income, which can make individual disability insurance worth it.
Which type of disability insurance should you purchase?
The type of disability insurance you should purchase depends on how long you want to cover your lost income.
Short-term disability insurance may be best if you only need to cover up to a year of being unable to work.
But if you work in a high-risk profession, are the primary wage earner in your household or have people who depend on you financially, long-term disability insurance coverage may be a better choice, as it could cover you for partial or total disability through retirement age, depending on the policy.
What are the types of disability insurance?
The types of disability insurance include short-term, long-term and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI).
You can purchase short or long-term disability insurance coverage through a private insurance company or your employer if they offer group coverage as part of your employee benefits package.
SSDI pays eligible workers who have paid Social Security taxes, worked long enough and meet its definition of disability. But you will have to wait five months before you can receive benefits, even if you qualify.
Do disability premiums increase over time?
Disability insurance premiums can increase over time, but it depends on your policy type.
Level premium disability insurance policies offers fixed premiums.
Graded premium disability insurance policies will gradually increase premiums over time.
Some individual disability insurance policies include a contract clause allowing the insurer to raise premiums for all individuals in an occupational class, but not if you have a non-cancellable policy.