Four tips for buying disability insurance

What is insured and what is not?

When you purchase disability insurance from Alpina, it's nice to know what you are and are not covered for. Below we outline both situations:

Well insured:

• Your occupation, even if you can still do other work;
• If you have other income, it will not affect your benefits;
• You can adjust your insured income by up to 10% once a year without a new health declaration;
• Disability due to an accident at work or outside of work, such as sports;
• Disability due to illness or mental illness;
• Pregnancy benefit, starting 1 year after the conclusion of disability insurance;
• Costs caused by reintegration;
• A prevention package, so you can prevent disability.

Not insured:

• Incapacity for work due to intent or gross negligence;
• Disability due to the use of alcohol or drugs;
• When you have not been complete or honest when applying for disability insurance.

Four tips to help with disability insurance?

You have decided to take out disability insurance. But how do you choose the insurance that suits you best among the wide range on offer? Alpina's four handy tips will help you find the disability insurance that best suits your personal situation.

1. Determine the income to be insured.

The premium you will pay periodically is determined in part by the portion of income you want to insure. When you take out disability insurance, you can cover up to 80% of your income. Of course, a lower percentage is also possible. The higher the coverage, the more premium you will pay periodically. A useful tool for determining what percentage you should choose is to ask the question of what expenses are recurring within the business even when you are disabled. This will help you know how much money you should have available each month from your disability insurance. In addition, it is advisable to consider your partner's financial situation. Is your partner employed? What is your partner's income? Is your partner also insured against disability? These are several questions that are important to ask. After all, if your partner has a lot of certainty about an income, then you can take a little more risk as a self-employed person.

2. Choose the right insurance type

When you want to purchase disability insurance, it is good to know that there are three different types of insurance, namely:

• Occupational disability insurance: the issue here is how disabled you are. This is determined based on what you can still perform within your profession.
• Fit work: with this insurance, the question is different. Are you still able to perform the work appropriate to your work experience and education? With this type of disability, you are less likely to get insurance.
• Current employment: this is the last variant and is rare. When this form of insurance is taken out, it considers whether you are still able to work anyway and what work is appropriate. If the person is able to work, this insurance pays no premium.

The first form of insurance offers the most complete coverage. But again, we recommend looking at your personal situation. Weigh different scenarios and choose the insurance that best suits your situation.

3. Examine the deductible period

It is important to think about the deductible period. For example, you can make a decision to have your disability insurance pay out only after a number of months or years. During this period, you will not receive any funds if you become disabled. If you decide to opt for an excess period, Alpina's advice is to set aside money to cover this period.

When purchasing disability insurance, it is also advisable to think about age. With some heavy professions you can insure yourself until the age of 55 or 60. Other professions give you more freedom. If you insure yourself until retirement, you will obviously pay more premium. Do you decide to insure yourself to a lower age? Then this may be more advantageous for you.

4. Identify alternative insurance options.

There are also alternative ways to insure yourself. For example, there are several associations of self-employed workers who jointly secure each other's disability. In addition, it is wise to put money aside. It is advisable to do this from the start of the business. In conclusion, there is the possibility of insurance with the UWV. This is not quite comparable to private insurers. For example, different conditions are imposed. These have to do with your employment and insurance history.