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Pregnancy & Disability |
Paid Maternity Leave BenefitsWould you like to have a paid maternity leave? Short term disability can generate maternity leave income for a perfectly healthy pregnancy and normal delivery. Having income coming in while you recover from childbirth is a great way to better enjoy bonding with your baby.
Maternity Pay ExamplesShort term disability insurance for maternity leave allows gives you an incentive to get coverage: your planned normal labor and delivery is a covered benefit. Your benefit for normal delivery may greatly exceed the premium you may pay, helping you create maternity leave income. Short-term disability pays a six-week benefit for a vaginal delivery, and an eight-week benefit for a c-section birth, less the elimination period. The elimination period is the length of time you are disabled before benefits begin being paid. Most policies contain either a one or two week elimination period. Let’s take a look at an example. Suppose you work as a nurse in Texas earning $54,000 per year.
Your monthly premiums may be a fraction of your benefit for normal delivery; provided you get short term disabillity at the right time, and in the right place.
Monthly Benefits and Elimination PeriodsYour monthly benefit amount can reach up to 2/3 of your monthly earnings up to a cap of $5,000 per month. Insurers are risk averse by nature, so policies with larger benefit amounts sometimes are coupled with longer elimination periods. Since the benefit for normal delivery is a fixed length, your benefit amount may impact your level of maternity pay.
As you see from the examples above a $3,000 monthly benefit amount is a magic number triggering a longer elimination period. While applying for an amount above that figure may yield a smaller maternity benefit there are balancing factors:
Simplified UnderwrtingSimplified underwriting is advantage of smaller monthly benefits amounts - those at $3,000 or less. Insurer ask fewer and less intrusive medical question. They also are more forgiving of prior medical histories that are less than perfect. There are a few medical hurdles that you still must pass:
Guaranteed Issue UnderwritingYou may had experienced a medical issue during the last 12 months that could preclude you from getting coverage. Many medical conditions require ongoing treatment and medical supervision, meaning you may never qualify for coverage.
Guaranteed issue policies are available in monthly benefit amounts of $3,000 and below. If either five or 20% of you co-workers (whichever is greater) must aslo purchase a policy. If your group meets this standard, you will qualify for coverage no questions asked. This will be a 12 month pre-existing condition clause included on all policies. |
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