Posted on May 16 2010 by Amanda Hill

Are You Bent on Doing Things the Hard Way?

Our society places a high value on being independent and self-sufficient. We pride ourselves on taking adversity head on and keeping a stiff upper lip. But as a result, people sometimes take a less than prudent approach when it comes to insuring what may be the most valuable asset in their lives: their paychecks.

As an advisor, when I am working with a client and discussing their need to insure their paychecks with disability insurance, I often hear them say, It would take a lot to disable me, or I could work from a wheelchair or hospital bed.

These comments raise three questions in my mind. First, could you really work from your hospital bed or are you just keeping a stiff upper lip? Secondly, even if you could work, would you want to, and would you be able to do your job as well? And lastly, would being forced to work impede your recovery?

Anyone who has actually been disabled knows the answers to these questions, myself included. A few years back I had the misfortune of shattering both bones in my lower right leg while playing soccer. Although my right leg isn’t critical to my work, being rested, feeling good and being lucid are. I didn’t sleep well for a year. Every time I moved even the slightest amount, the broken bones shifted and I woke up in excruciating pain. How well do any of us work when we are exhausted?

Further, I had my choice of either being lucid but in horrible pain, or being comfortable yet doped up with pain medication. I don’t think too many of us would want to do business with someone who is in either state, yet I hear clients say that it would take a lot to disable me. Personally, I chose pain over the fog of pain medication, and it took all of my focus to be a tolerable (not good and definitely not exceptional) husband and father. Work was totally out of the questionall from a simple broken leg.

So maybe our approach to being independent and self-sufficient should be one of proactive risk managementvia insurance. Too often we insist on doing things the hard way. If you have ever stayed home when you had a bad cold or the flu, then think about how hard it would be to work if you were actually disabled day after day. You have insured your car, you have insured your home, isn’t it time to insure your paycheck?

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