Your Earning Power Is Your Largest Asset. Insure It.

If you earn $250,000 a year and have twenty working years ahead, your human capital — the present value of your future earnings — is worth millions. It is almost certainly the largest asset on your personal balance sheet, and it is uninsured.

Disability income insurance replaces a portion of your income if injury or illness keeps you from working. The details that matter: the definition of disability (own-occupation is stronger than any-occupation), the benefit period (to age 65 or for life), and whether benefits are taxable.

Group long-term disability through an employer is a start, but it typically replaces only 60% of income, is often capped, and is usually taxable when employer-paid. An individual policy fills the gap with benefits you own and control — portable across jobs and tax-free when you pay the premium yourself.