Picture this: You celebrate your newest job promotion with your loved ones. You have been busy at work recently, so you enjoy some well-deserved family time.
The last thing you remember hearing is your children’s happy giggles. You wake up in a hospital bed, and the doctor informs you that you have suffered from a sudden stroke and need at least three weeks to recover.
You first think about your job, income, and inability to work for a while. Your family needs you to take care of them. Bills, rent, and tuition fees will not wait for you to recover - they must be settled on time.
If you have ever been in a similar situation, you might not have been aware of the importance of disability insurance. This lack of knowledge usually stems from the confusion that the term “disability insurance” creates in the minds of consumers. So, let us break down what disability insurance means.
What exactly is disability insurance?
Disability insurance, more conveniently known as income insurance, offers you a way to replace your earnings when you’re unable to work and make money following an accident or an illness. Think about it as a monthly payment that covers most of your needs when physically incapable of generating your usual total income.
Nevertheless, compared to other types of insurance, such as travel, home, or life insurance, disability insurance remains the most ambiguous, primarily due to its name. Few people would consider disability insurance over other types of insurance because they believe that the former can only benefit from it in case of disability. Numbers back up that claim, with 44% of people signed up for life insurance policies, whereas only 29% have applied for disability coverage. The small numbers can be attributed to the fact that many users are unaware of the numerous benefits of income insurance.
What are you signing up for when you opt for disability insurance?
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Peace of mind: With disability insurance, you can sleep peacefully at night knowing that should any incident occur, you don’t have to worry about the consequences of having to miss work for a little while until you fully recover. This also allows you a much more undisturbed recovery period since you’re not stressing over taking care of your family and paying your bills.
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Income security, regardless of the job: Income insurance is linked to your revenue and not your current occupation, so it’s not affected if you decide to switch careers. This is excellent news for people who venture into new jobs often and may be worried about losing their employee benefit disability insurance.
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Different bundles for different incomes: Income insurance kicks in as your safety net in case of injury or sickness. As such, its primary purpose is to provide you with an adequate amount of money that you and your dependents need. Since this amount is not meant as a replacement for your actual income, different bundles exist depending on your revenue.
Due to its importance, income insurance should be at the top of your priority list. Injury can never be predicted; you may never know when you might get sick and can no longer go to work and secure your income. What is even worse, however, is that if you were considering signing up for it, the process might take weeks or even months. Who knows what might happen during all that time?
Or at least… this used to be the consumers’ primary concern. In the past, income insurance was mainly sold to high-income workers since it did not offer the users different bundles they could benefit from. To get the insurance, however, a series of medical tests needed to be conducted, and the process could take up to 90 days (about three months) for approvals.
Luckily, with the help of technology and artificial intelligence, companies like Asteya are working hard to solve the accessibility issue that users face. Income insurance greatly benefited from the digital boom that the insurance world has recently witnessed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine-learning software and applications handle the enormous amounts of data and personal information that insurance companies receive daily. The shift to a more technologically driven market has progressed the insurance industry and propelled it into reaching previously unseen profit margins.
So, what does that mean for income insurance?
A couple of things, actually: Efficiency and efficacy. Insurance companies are very much aware of the digital route’s benefits. Due to these different changes, going digital can no longer be considered an afterthought to businesses and agents; it’s a crucial decision ensuring their company’s survival. Asking your customers to fill out dozens of hard copy pages of personal information and details when your competitor offers the same services in a much more accessible way may very well put you at a considerable disadvantage.
In fact, according to a 2019 survey administered to German customers, two main advantages of the decision to go digital can be highlighted: much easier and faster contract completion in addition to a more tailored user experience and products. Granted, there are more advantages to going digital, especially when it comes to it.
What does digital income insurance offer you?
Digital income insurance offers you three main advantages: a much faster completion of the application process, a much more refined user experience, and several different bundles that vary depending on your budget.
1-Much faster contract completion
The most obvious advantage of digital income insurance is the speed at which the application can be filled out and returned to the consumer. Traditionally, completing insurance applications, submitting them to the company, and receiving a response could take up to 2 to 3 months. This, of course, caused lots of inconveniences to users and agents at the same time.
With the digitalization of income insurance, however, this process requires only a few clicks and may be done in less than 30 minutes. You can fill out the application in the comfort of your own home and with the help of any technological device at your disposal. In addition, in case you have any questions while filling out your application, you can contact the insurance agent virtually and have your inquiries answered instead of visiting the insurance company to receive the necessary answers.
2-Refined user experience
The digitalization of income insurance streamlines the user experience and simplifies the whole process of application. Thanks to the technological advancements and artificial intelligence used in the software, the user can be alerted of any error they commit while filling out the application. This helps them avoid repeating the process in the future or having their application rejected by the insurance company.
Additionally, when you input your consumer data into the application, your insurance company may use social media ads in a way that is specifically targeted to you, depending on your background, gender, age, or location. As such, you might be notified of other insurance plans you were unaware of and might be interested in applying for.
3-Lower cost
Finally, the last advantage that the digitalization of income insurance has is related to the plan’s cost. Digital income insurance has made it possible for users to receive the benefits of this plan for an extremely low price. For instance, digital income insurance can be as low as $6 per month. You can choose the best bundle that fits your income and invest in it as you please.
Thanks to companies adopting a fresher, technologically driven approach to it, applying for this type of insurance does not require the users to undergo any medical or blood tests before the process. In addition, the smaller amount of paperwork necessary for these applications means that users save money and time before signing up for insurance. This lowers the insurance cost to the users and may push them to invest more money into their plan, which is more profitable to the company.
The bottom line
Suppose you’re constantly seeking peace of mind and want to anticipate any injury or illness that you might go through. In that case, disability insurance or income insurance is the choice for you. Even better, you can quickly sign up for income insurance now that it has gone digital, and the process has become shorter and smoother than ever before.
In contrast, as a company, by incorporating technology into your services, you would gain new customers, understand their needs better, offer them much easier access to your services, and secure their data and personal information. And because the market for disability insurance is still much smaller than that of life insurance, then you have much room for profit and growth if you start selling income insurance today.
Digital income insurance is the next big thing. So, in case you still have doubts about signing up for it, take this as your sign to consider one of the easiest ways to secure your monthly income.
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