Injuries or illness come uninvited anytime. Business disability insurance is an insurance that pays benefits to the insured when he/she is unable to work due to long term illness or injury. This type of insurance can be combined with life or health insurance and can be helpful for the continuation of business.

Usually business disability insurance policies are of two types-

• Short term disability: This type of policy covers short-term injuries or illness. The benefits of this policy are enough to get the person back to work.
• Long term disability: This type of disability policy covers serious and permanent career ending injuries. It will pay benefits to the injured for many years or maybe for the rest of his life.

The premium for the policies varies and depends on various factors such as the nature of the business, physical work involved and the risk involved in carrying out the work.

There are various provisions in disability insurance policies that can prove to be beneficial to the insured person such as-

• The person can work part time and receive portion of benefits from the policy.
• Cost of living adjustment- With the increase in cost of living, the benefits of the policy also increase.
• Premium waiver – With this the premium that is required to be paid by the insured is waivered when he/she is disabled.
• There is also provision in disability policies that help the disabled person to gain income from other sources such as social security.

The employers can opt for group disability plan for employees that offer low premium rates after consulting with their insurance professionals. This way employer can ensure that the business does not suffer much loss when any key employee is injured. In case of self employed individuals, it is very essential to structure the disability insurance well so as to keep the business going. It will be helpful in clearing any outstanding bills that were incurred during the injury period. Hence it is essential to choose the insurance policy wisely with the help of prior research to determine the most advantageous scheme.