Disability insurance is a type of insurance that courts have described as providing “peace of mind” to insured consumers.  Peace of mind policies are intended to reduce stress and anxiety about what can potentially happen in the future.

Disability policies can generally take on two forms:  individual policies issued directly to a policy holder, or group policies which are typically issued by an insurance company to an employer for the benefit of employees.

Disability policies can provide short-term or long-term disability coverage. Short-term disability policies usually provide coverage for up to six months before long-term disability coverage takes effect.  In the absence of a short-term disability policy, a disabled claimant may be eligible to receive Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits which provides coverage for a maximum of fifteen weeks.