How to Insure Your Income: Short-Term Disability

Most group short-term policies provide for short elimination periods (usually 30 days or less) and short benefit periods (usually between six months and one year). The benefit amount is limited to a percentage of your pre-disability earned income -- such as 60 percent or 70 percent.

The claims process for these benefits will be fairly simple. You will need an attending doctor's affidavit that you are injured seriously enough that you can't work. You'll also need to fill out a simple claim form -- mostly attesting to the fact that workers' comp or other coverages don't apply.

One of the rationales for short-term disability has been that an injured person should be eligible for Social Security disability benefits after the five-month Social Security waiting period. In reality, this may or may not be true -- depending on whether the person can meet the strict definition of Social Security disability.

In addition, if the person does qualify for benefits, the first benefit check likely will not be received before one year from the onset of disability. In any event, STD benefits were designed to fill the gap until Social Security began paying benefits to the claimant.