Group Disability Insurance: Support During a Stressful Time
“My disability coverage allowed my wife and me to continue our lifestyle without interruption after my accident. It let us stick to our financial plan, which meant less stress. If I hadn’t had the coverage, I may have had to borrow money.”
That’s how Paul Wagener, an engineer at a small Wisconsin forklift business, characterizes the benefits he received from his employer-sponsored short-term and long-term disability coverage from Principal Life Insurance Company.
Paul, who’s been with his employer for 18 years, really appreciated that he had this coverage and that his employer paid the premiums. He knew that, in addition to his health insurance, this disability protection was an important part of taking care of himself and his family. Plus, because of this coverage, he didn’t feel the need to purchase additional credit card or mortgage protection insurance.
A long and slow recovery
It wasn’t until a skiing accident early in 2006 that Paul realized the tangible benefits of having disability coverage. He suffered a severe fracture of his vertebrae that resulted in spinal nerve damage. After surgery, Paul was hospitalized for two weeks and then off work for three months. He was facing a long and slow recovery.
His return to work was gradual – working some time from home with suggestions from a Principal Life vocational counselor. Paul slowly increased the amount of time he spent at the office. Starting with just an hour a day, he eventually was able to go back to work full-time. In the meantime, Paul used his disability benefits to pay a variety of bills, including the copays for his medical treatment.
Because the beginning of Paul’s disability held a lot of unknowns, definitive answers from doctors were hard to come by. That’s why he really appreciated his claims contact at Principal Life. “The people I worked with were very helpful and prompt in getting me answers. There were lots of forms to complete and they really helped me with that.”
Reassurance and understanding
Happily, Paul is expected to make a full recovery from his injury over the next year or so, but during those tough times he was thankful for the support he received from Principal Life more than anything. “I recommend them to others. They were reassuring and understanding when I was in a lot of pain. There was a great deal of guilt and stress with my injury since it kept me away from work. The last thing I needed was someone on the other end making me feel worse.”
Learn about the benefits of Disability Insurance.
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