Disability Insurance What You Need to Know

Disability Insurance or sometimes called DI, disability income insurance, or Disability Income protects the insurers earned income against the risk of disability. It would pay a portion of your salary, creating a safety in case of illness, disability or accidents that render the individual unable to work.

For instance an employee may suffer from an inability to maintain composure in the case of psychological disorders or an injury, illness or condition that causes physical impairment or incapacity to work. It encompasses paid sick leave, short-term disability benefits (STD), and long-term disability benefits (LTD). If you suddenly become ill or disabled the Disability Insurance can help you pay your bills, make your monthly rent or mortgage loan payments, buy your groceries, make your car payments, pay for your children's education, etc.

Hillary Clinton's Plan Against Ballooning Student Debt with $16 a month

Hillary Clinton's "debt-free college plan" include the imposition of a 3 months moratorium on federal student loan payments through executive action.

"With dedicated assistance from the Department of Education during this moratorium, borrowers will be able to consolidate their loans, sign up quickly and easily for income-based repayment plans, and take direct advantage of opportunities to reduce monthly interest payments and fees," she said.

Implied though not plainly expressed in those "opportunities" are other elements of her college plan, that will cover the ability for borrowers to refinance their student loans at current rates and interest-free loan deferrals for aspiring entrepreneurs. Borrowers who are behind on debt would also get help during the hiatus to rehabilitate their loans.

Financial planner Evelyn Zohlen president of Inspired Financial in Huntington Beach, California said that the 3-month moratorium has a better possibility of coming into fruition than the "tuition-free education at in-state public colleges for families earning as much as $125,000 or less" because it does not need the cooperation of Congress or a major funding initiative.

"It's allowing people to take advantage of programs already in place. The only people quote, unquote hurt are lenders, who may not see as much profit if people refinance to lower rates."

People who are unable to pay their student loan are growing more than 33% of the borrowers have been late on a payment at least once in the past year, and 25% were late more than once based on the report of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation's 2015 Financial Capability in the United States.

Even though they are struggling to pay, a lot of millennials don't care about their loan management options. Based on a survey released by Citizens Bank, millennials do not have an idea on what they owe on their student loans, the interest rate they are paying, when will they be able pay it or whether college was worth it. On average, graduates owed about $41,000 in student loans.  A shocking 60% millennials of the surveyed said they have no idea when their loans will be paid off and more than a third don't even know the interest rate they are paying, the report said.

Mark Kantrowitz, vice president of strategy for Cappex.com said that "You don't need Clinton's 3 months moratorium to switch repayment plans into income-based repayment. It takes just a few minutes."

Troubled borrowers may be entitled for one or more of the 7 alternative repayment options:

1. Standard Repayment Plan - it requires that you make fixed monthly payments of at least $50 for up to 10 years.
2. Graduated Repayment Plan - Your payments start low, and increase every two years. It will still be paid off within 10 years.
3. Extended Repayment Plan - repayment window for this plan is up to 25 years. You have the option of setting fixed monthly payments, like with the Standard Plan, or increasing them over time.
4. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) - Monthly payments are capped at 15% of your discretionary income, and readjusted each year based on your income and family size for up to 25 years.
5. Pay As You Earn Repayment (PAYE) -      Monthly payments are capped at 10% of your discretionary income, and readjusted each year based on your income and family size.
6. Income-Contingent Repayment Plan - Payments, made for up to 25 years, are based on your adjusted gross income, family size and the amount of your loans. Your payments change as your income changes.
7. Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan - Your monthly payments are based on your annual income.
  
Each of the plan has pros and cons. Just remember a longer repayment term not only lengthens your payment commitment, it also means you'll pay more overall. If you refinance your federal student loans into a new, private loan. I will come at the price of losing federal protections to postpone payments in times of financial hardship.

Also if you cut your loan rate it may not lessen your monthly payment that much. In Clinton's proposal, for instance, estimates that borrowers refinancing into new loans at current rates would save the typical borrower $2,000 over the life of their loan.

"Divided by 120 payments, and that's $16 a month," Kantrowitz said. So She's proposing puny "A free pizza a month."

Millennials Prefer to Rent but Pass on Renters Insurance

According to a survey published on insuranceQuotes, Millennials prefer to rent homes, and most of them don't like to get renters insurance. Even though that coverage is not expensive, and having non could cause a huge financial hardship.

Based on the April 2016 survey for insuranceQuotes.com done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 66% of 18 to 29 years old are renting their home, compared with just 37% of consumers overall. What is alarming is that less than 33% of Millennial renters have renters insurance.

When questioned about not having renters policy, 59% of renters in the 18 to 29 age group said that cost is not the primary reason. Instead, they believe it’s unnecessary because they live in a very secure property (61%), or they don’t own enough personal property to insure (43%). And 41% of them said they’re avoiding renters insurance because they don’t understand how the product works.

A lot of the consumers are foregoing the benefits of renters insurance because they underestimate the benefits and overestimate its cost. The average annual premium is $188 (or $15.67 per month); however, 25% of 18- to 29-year-old respondents believe they’d have to pay $1,000 or more. People need to be educated since it is an affordable financial safety net that every renter should have.

Other report highlights include:

    Renters who don’t have renters insurance because they don’t understand the product increased from 27% in 2015 to 33% this year.
    Renters who don’t have insurance because they don’t know where to get it also increased from 20% in 2015 to 26% this year.
    College graduates are more likely to have renters insurance compared to high school graduates or those with a lesser education – 64% to 24% respectively.
    35% of respondents mistakenly said a renters policy does not cover personal property damaged in a natural disaster or property stolen from you outside of your rental home (60%).

The full report is available here: http://www.insurancequotes.com/home/millennials-and-renters-insurance-051916.

The survey was done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) through telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults living in the continental United States.


Here is why Renters Insurance is important for me personally:

1. If my stuff is stolen like my iPhone, iPad or laptop, furniture or bicycles could cost thousands of dollars. Renters insurance covers more than just theft it also covers fire, water problems and vandalism.

2. If you burned your dinner and it resulted to smoke damage. Your landlord will bill you for that damage even if none of your property was damaged since his property has been.

3. Renters insurance is about $12 to $30 a month for $30,000 worth of coverage a small cost with big pay off.