If you are considering buying an income protection insurance policy, you should carefully look at the terms and conditions first. This is to make sure you agree with specific and vital provisions of the product. It is not ideal to realize your disagreement or indifference with the policy when you are already claiming for payouts. It is always best to know and fully understand what you are taking as an investment.
The definition of total disability is one of the most important features of a income protection insurance policy. So you should consider this when comparing policies.
In general, different policies from different insurers could have varying definitions of total disability. Why is it so important for you to clearly understand what the definition is? And how could it affect the benefits you could reap from the income protection insurance policy?
When you get injured or seriously ill and you could no longer continue your job because of disability, it is the time when the income protection insurance would take effect. Your condition would greatly influence the type and amount of payout you would receive. Claims for total disability are logically far greater than claims for partial or temporary disability. It is because the latter could come with the assumption that the policyholder could still get back to normal condition and could still manage to earn an income.
A total disability would render a policyholder incapable of getting back to work or generating earnings again through working at full capacity. It is ideal if you would get a total disability claim if you are suffering from total disability. Be warned that you may have incurred total disability but your insurer may declare you just partially disabled because of lack of supporting medical documents. In that case, you may not be able to receive the amount of payout that you are supposed to receive.