Disability Income

A five-year, $105 million contract was on the table — and the biggest risk to it wasn’t a pitcher’s fastball, it was the chance the player never got to sign it. Here’s how we structured permanent total disability coverage to protect a Major League free agent through the riskiest year of his career.

The situation

The client was an outfielder and designated hitter entering the final year of his current contract, heading into free agency, and projected to sign a five-year deal worth roughly $105 million. His advisor came to us with a clear problem: standard disability coverage wasn’t built for exposure like this. One career-ending injury or illness before that new contract was signed could cost the player, and his family, a life-changing amount of money.

Why permanent total disability was the right tool

For a high-income athlete, the exposure isn’t just “can’t work for a few months” — it’s “career over, permanently.” That calls for permanent total disability coverage designed to pay a lump sum, not a monthly benefit. We worked directly with the player’s agent and financial advisor to size a policy against his actual earnings trajectory, not just his current salary.

The solution

We placed a $25 million permanent total disability policy, structured to pay out as a lump sum, at a premium of roughly $250,000 plus taxes and fees. The policy protected the player against exactly the risk that mattered most: a career-ending injury or illness before his next contract was secured.

The result

The advisor, the agent, and the player all got what they needed: a comprehensive policy that let the player focus on the game, not on the what-ifs. He went on to sign his contract with that protection already in place.

If you’re working with a high-income earner ($500k+ annually) who’s an all-star in their own field — an athlete, executive, physician, or business owner — it’s very likely they carry exceptional income exposure that a standard policy won’t cover. That’s a case we can help you design.

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Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency), connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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A client’s income is often their single biggest asset — bigger than their home, their portfolio, even their business. Most advisors make sure everything else is insured. Here’s how to make sure income itself doesn’t go unprotected.

The gap in group long-term disability coverage

Many employers offer group long-term disability (LTD) coverage, and many clients assume that’s enough. It usually isn’t. Group LTD is typically taxable, often only replaces 40-60% of income, and frequently excludes bonuses and incentive pay entirely — even though those can make up a large share of a client’s total compensation.

For higher-income earners, the gap is even wider. Group LTD benefits are often capped at a flat dollar amount that falls well short of what’s needed to replace a real monthly income. And because the coverage is tied to the employer, it typically disappears the moment a client changes jobs — at exactly the point in their career when their income, and their exposure, is highest.

What Individual Disability Insurance actually covers

Individual Disability Insurance (IDI) is built to close that gap. Just as life insurance pays a beneficiary for a loss, IDI pays a monthly benefit — tailored to a policyowner’s total income, not just their base salary — if a serious illness or injury keeps them from working. It travels with the client, not the employer, and it can be layered on top of group LTD to cover the income group coverage leaves out.

Why now is the right moment to raise it

Clients are more open than ever to conversations about protecting their income and their families against the unexpected. That makes this a natural moment for advisors to introduce IDI, not as an abstract product, but as a direct answer to a concern clients are already thinking about.

How to talk to clients about it

The clearest way to make the case is to point out that expenses don’t pause just because income does. Mortgages, car payments, loans, and everyday costs keep coming due whether or not a client can work — and a disabling illness or injury often adds new expenses on top of the old ones. IDI protects the income clients are already using to cover those costs, maintain their lifestyle, and support their families.

By raising income protection proactively, advisors don’t just fill a coverage gap — they demonstrate the kind of comprehensive planning that keeps clients loyal for the long run. If you have a client relying solely on group LTD, or a high earner whose real income exposure has never been fully addressed, that’s a case we can help you design.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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The CEO’s share value had grown 250% since the buy-sell agreement was last updated — and the board realized their disability buy-out coverage hadn’t kept pace. Here’s how we closed a $33 million gap before it became a problem.

The client

A large Texas-based firm operating in grain, energy, freight, and other commodities.

The situation

The client’s buy-sell agreement had failed to keep pace with the company’s rapid growth. As the business expanded, the CEO’s share value increased by 250% since the agreement was last funded, and the insurance portfolio protecting the shareholders needed a significant increase to match. The board, made up of a dozen shareholders, determined that a disabling event affecting the CEO could cripple the company without adequate disability buy-out coverage in place, and set a target of $33 million in coverage to fulfill the buy-sell obligation.

The solution

We placed a disability buy-out policy funded to a $33 million limit, structured to pay a lump sum benefit if the CEO became disabled, under the definitions and trigger language of the disability repurchase clause in the buy-sell agreement. The annual premium came in at roughly $110,000 plus taxes and fees — a fraction of the exposure it protected against.

The result

The board now has a buy-sell agreement backed by coverage that actually matches the current value of the business, closing a gap that had been quietly widening as the company grew. If the CEO were to become disabled, the company and remaining shareholders have the funding in place to execute the buyout without a forced sale or a cash crunch.

Four questions worth asking every business-owner client

For productive succession-planning conversations, we suggest asking clients or prospects: Do you know the current value of your business? Do you have a buy-sell agreement in place? Has that agreement been revisited since any change in company value, or since partners were added or removed? And without a buy-sell agreement, are you aware you could end up in business with a partner’s spouse if that partner dies or becomes disabled?

If you have a client whose buy-sell agreement hasn’t been revisited since their business changed in value, that’s a case we can help you review and place.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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Small business owners make up roughly 44% of U.S. economic production, yet a LIMRA study found only 18% of them carry individual disability insurance — and half of those are using it only to protect partners or stockholders, not themselves. That leaves the vast majority of business owners with no personal income protection at all. Here’s how to open that conversation.

Why this market is worth your time

Business owners make a particularly good fit for individual disability income insurance. They’re approachable, typically unprotected by workers’ compensation, and viewed favorably by DI carriers because owners are statistically more likely to return to work to keep their business running. There’s also a high probability that no one else is having this conversation with your business-owner clients — most advisors simply aren’t raising it.

The key to the conversation

The sale isn’t about product features — it’s about helping owners see their own vulnerability. Some business owners won’t want to engage with that, and it’s not worth spending a lot of time on the ones who don’t. But many will, once they understand what’s actually at risk, and as their advisor, you owe it to them to at least bring the need to the table.

Facts worth sharing with clients

Most people underestimate their real risk of disability. A few facts help make the case concrete: injuries, despite being the most commonly assumed cause, account for less than 10% of disability claims. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system — arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel, and lupus among them — are consistently the leading cause of new disability claims. Cancer is the second leading cause.

Bringing this to your clients

If you have business-owner clients relying solely on a group LTD plan, or with no personal disability coverage at all, that’s a conversation worth starting today. We have marketing support and case-design help available if you want to bring this market into your practice.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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“I had no idea. I could barely make my mortgage payment with that.” That was a federal employee’s reaction after seeing what her own disability benefit would actually pay her — a number she’d never bothered to check because she assumed her federal benefits had her covered.

The situation

Ask a federal employee whether their income is protected if they get sick or hurt, and the answer is almost always the same: “I have disability income protection through my work. I’m a federal employee, and we have great benefits.” Most conversations end right there. But most federal employees don’t actually know what their long-term disability plan would pay them if they got sick or hurt — and the federal government’s FERS Disability Plan, while real and provided at no cost, pays far less than most employees assume.

Running the numbers

We sat down with one federal employee and ran the actual math. Her current taxable monthly income was $7,850. If she became unable to work for more than a year, her FERS Disability Plan would pay her $3,140 in taxable income until age 62. After a modest combined tax rate of 25%, her net monthly income would drop to $2,355 — a fraction of what she was earning, and barely enough to cover her mortgage. And if she qualified for Social Security, her FERS benefit could be reduced by up to an additional 60% of whatever Social Security paid her.

Why this gap is so widespread

There are currently more than 2.85 million civilian federal employees covered under the FERS Disability Plan, and more than 84% of them carry no supplemental coverage at all — largely because, like this employee, they assume their federal benefits are already enough.

The solution

We work with carriers that specialize in supplemental disability coverage designed specifically for federal employees, built to close exactly this kind of gap between what FERS pays and what a federal employee’s actual income requires.

If you have clients who are federal employees and have never run this math for themselves, that’s a conversation worth having before an illness or injury forces it. We can help you show them the real numbers and design supplemental coverage that fits.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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It can take a lifetime to save enough for retirement — and just a few minutes of a disabling illness or injury to bring that saving to a halt. Here’s a coverage most advisors overlook that’s built specifically to keep retirement contributions going when income stops.

The gap this coverage fills

Most disability income planning focuses on replacing a client’s paycheck, which matters, but it leaves a second problem unsolved: even a well-designed DI plan doesn’t keep retirement contributions flowing. If a client becomes too sick or hurt to work, their salary may eventually be partially replaced, but their 401(k) or IRA contributions typically stop entirely, right when they can least afford a gap in retirement savings.

What DI Retirement Security actually does

DI Retirement Security is a program built specifically to address that gap. It helps clients keep saving for retirement even through a long-term or total disability, paying up to 15% of a client’s income toward retirement savings, even if that client has already reached the maximum benefit available under their existing individual DI plan.

Why this matters for clients already maxed out on DI

Clients who’ve maximized their individual disability coverage often assume they’re fully protected. DI Retirement Security addresses a blind spot even for those clients: it can layer on top of an existing DI plan specifically to protect retirement savings, rather than duplicating income replacement they’ve already secured.

If you have clients who are maxed out on individual DI, or who’ve never had their retirement savings specifically protected against a disability, that’s a conversation worth having. Contact us for current illustrations, case design, and product questions for your client’s specific age, occupation class, and benefit amount.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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Mountain climbing, rafting, boating — the same hobbies that make summer great are also the ones most likely to land a client in the hospital with a “boo-boo” that keeps them out of work. Here’s an affordable way to make sure a summer accident doesn’t turn into a summer of missed mortgage payments.

The risk clients don’t think about

Clients heading into summer are focused on enjoying the season, not on the injury risk that comes with their favorite outdoor hobbies. Accidents happen, though, and short-term income protection is built exactly for this kind of situation — an unexpected injury that keeps someone out of work for weeks or months, not necessarily years.

How the coverage works

If a client gets hurt, this kind of coverage provides tax-free income every month while they recover, with plan options ranging from shorter-term benefits lasting around 6 months up to plans covering up to 2 years. Monthly benefit amounts are based on the client’s income, up to a maximum benefit, and are typically enough to keep the mortgage paid, the lights on, and the family fed while the client recovers.

As an illustrative example, a self-employed 35-year-old carpenter earning $60,000 a year might qualify for a meaningful tax-free monthly benefit for a modest monthly premium — inexpensive enough that cost is rarely the reason a client goes without it.

Why the timing matters

If a client gets sick or injured and ends up in the hospital without an income protection plan already in place, it’s too late to buy the coverage after the fact. The best time to have this conversation is before summer activity picks up, not after an accident happens.

Contact us today to find out exactly how affordable income protection can be, and how to fit it to any client’s specific needs and budget.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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Traditional disability carriers do a reasonable job replacing income for low- and middle-income earners, then quietly fall short the moment a client’s income crosses roughly $150,000. Here’s why that gap exists, and how to close it.

Why carriers underinsure high earners

Modern disability insurers are cautious, sometimes overly so, about accidentally over-insuring their clients, and that caution shows up most with highly compensated clients. In the past, the income replacement percentage was often left to a particular carrier underwriter’s subjective judgment. More recently, the Council for Disability Awareness has pushed to modernize that approach with a statistical analysis suggesting clients need to replace at least 65% of their income to maintain their standard of living through a disability.

Where the gap shows up

Traditional carriers often meet, and sometimes surpass, that 65% target for low- and middle-income earners. They consistently fall short for clients earning more than $150,000, where percentage-based caps and flat dollar maximums leave a widening gap between what the policy pays and what the client actually needs to sustain their lifestyle.

The solution: stacking supplemental coverage

Whether a client earns a modest income or a high one, the underlying need is the same: adequate income protection to sustain their or their family’s lifestyle during a period of non-productivity or severely diminished cash flow from a short- or long-term disability. For higher earners, stacking additional income protection on top of what traditional carriers provide turns “maintaining their current lifestyle through a disability” from a hope into something they can actually count on.

Contact your dedicated DI specialist today to learn more about how you can offer your clients a complete income protection plan, regardless of how high their income runs.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

Connect on LinkedIn →

Clients who’ve maxed out their disability insurance coverage often assume there’s nothing left to add — but their retirement contributions could still be left completely unfunded if they got sick or hurt. Here’s how DI Retirement Security (DIRS) closes that specific gap.

Who qualifies

DIRS provides coverage that helps individuals continue making retirement contributions if they become unable to work due to disability. Since retirement contributions themselves aren’t required to qualify, any individual in a qualifying occupation class (Class A through 5A Select) earning at least $76,000 per year can apply. Coverage doesn’t diminish eligibility for regular individual DI insurance either — a client can qualify for DIRS even if they already carry a regular individual DI policy up to the maximum issue and participation limits.

How the benefit is structured

If the insured becomes disabled beyond the policy’s elimination period, DIRS pays into a trust rather than directly to the client, and at the end of the benefit period, trust assets are distributed to the insured per the trust agreement’s terms. Benefits are non-taxable if the insured pays the DIRS premium themselves; they’re taxable if an employer pays the premium and it isn’t treated as income to the employee.

Key features

Coverage provides a maximum benefit up to 15% of earned income, subject to a monthly benefit cap that’s periodically updated, with a minimum benefit requirement of $1,000 per month. Available elimination periods are 180 or 365 days, and benefit periods run to age 65 or 67, with “Your Occupation” periods of two years, five years, age 65, or age 67. Optional riders include Future Benefit Increase, Cost-of-Living Adjustment, and a Mental/Nervous Substance Abuse Disorder limitation.

If DIRS is written as a stand-alone policy with no other DI coverage applied for or in force, simplified underwriting guidelines can apply, making it a straightforward addition even for clients who haven’t gone through full DI underwriting.

For more information, including current benefit caps and case design for a specific client, contact your disability income insurance specialist today.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

Connect on LinkedIn →

Most sole business owners have never thought through who would actually run their business if they became disabled tomorrow — and a spouse or relative stepping in is rarely the answer they’d choose if given the option. Here’s a coverage built specifically for that gap.

The problem this solves

The average business owner isn’t prepared to have a spouse or relative step into the business if they become unable to work. Given the choice, most owners would rather pass responsibilities to someone who already understands the business and knows how to keep it profitable — typically a key employee, not a family member.

What a One-Way Buy-Out actually is

A disability buy-sell option called a One-Way Buy-Out gives a key employee the flexibility to purchase Disability Buy-Out (DBO) insurance, funding a buy-sell agreement between the employee and the sole owner of the business. The mechanics are similar to a life insurance policy funding a traditional buy-sell agreement, with one important difference: business owners are roughly eight times more likely to become disabled during their working years than to pass away, which makes disability, not death, the more probable trigger event to plan for.

Why this structure benefits both sides

The disabled business owner is protected because the key employee purchaser is obligated to buy out the owner’s interest. The key employee purchaser is protected because the policy provides both the opportunity and the funding to purchase the disabled owner’s interest, rather than having to come up with the money on short notice. Together, this prevents the sole owner from having to scramble to find a buyer while totally disabled, and it provides a smooth transition of ownership. Benefits are paid tax-free, though premiums are not deductible.

Contact your disability insurance specialist for more information on how to properly develop a Disability Buy-Sell Agreement between a business owner and a key employee.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-23

Tim Fuller

President, SRS Inc.

Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency) connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners — with the impaired-risk and complex-case expertise to place business other IMOs and BGAs turn away.

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