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Best disability insurance for software engineers (2024)

Disability insurance can replace your income and protect your savings if you’re hurt or sick and can’t work, which is especially important for high-earning engineers.

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Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

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Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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It’s worth getting disability insurance if you’re a software engineer, especially if you’ve invested time and money in a computer science degree or bootcamp. The right long-term policy can provide you with disability benefits for years after an illness or injury, even if you can never work as an engineer again.

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

The best way to find affordable disability insurance for software engineers is by shopping around and comparing quotes before buying coverage.

Why do software engineers need disability insurance?

The right disability insurance policy can protect the time you’ve invested in your career as a software engineer by keeping up your salary while you’re unable to work.

Disability insurance means you don’t have to worry about getting back to work right away or eating up your savings while you’re hurt or sick. You can use your disability insurance just like your regular income, on anything from rent to groceries to childcare.

Disability insurance usually comes in two forms:

  • Short-term disability coverage lasts for a few weeks or months, but typically no more than a year.

  • Long-term disability coverage lasts anywhere from a year to multiple decades — you can even set your policy to cover you until retirement age.

What does long-term disability insurance cover?

Long-term disability insurance covers a range of disabilities (excluding pre-existing conditions). That includes chronic pain, the loss of a limb, broken bones, cancer, and more.

What software engineers need to know about disability insurance

As a software engineer, you’ll get the best coverage from an own-occupation disability policy. Own-occupation coverage means you can collect disability insurance benefits even if you get another, non-software engineer job, as long as you’re not doing the job you were doing before your disabling injury or illness.

Say, for example, that an injury from a car accident prevents you from ever working as a software engineer again, but that you’re able to hold another job in a related field. An own-occupation policy means you can still collect benefits even with your new job, since you’re unable to do your “own” occupation.

What if you already have disability insurance through work?

Your employer may offer disability insurance coverage as a benefit — many tech companies do. It’s worth having this type of insurance, calledgroup disability, since it’s usually free or relatively cheap, but you shouldn’t rely on group disability coverage alone.

That’s because you don’t have much, if any, control over your group disability benefits — they’re set by your employer. They’re also attached to your job, so when you leave the company, you lose the coverage. And employer-provided plans are usually short-term policies, so you may only have benefits for a few months.

That’s why it’s still worth getting your own long-term disability coverage or a separate supplemental policy even if you have disability insurance through work.

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

Disability insurance riders for software engineers

Disability insurance riders are coverage options that change or adjust your policy. Here are some useful disability insurance riders that are worth having as a software engineer:

  • Cost of living adjustment (COLA): Increases your monthly payments to keep pace with inflation.

  • Future increase rider: Allows you to add more disability insurance coverage for a set period of time without having to go through another medical exam.

  • Non-cancelable/guaranteed premiums: Keeps your rates the same and your policy active as long as you pay your premiums on time.

  • Partial disability benefit: Pays out benefits if you lose part of your income due to an injury or illness.

  • Retirement protection: Replaces the retirement contributions that you made to your 401(k) or IRA while you were working.

  • Student loan rider: Continues your student loan repayments while you’re out of work.

How much does disability insurance cost for software engineers?

Disability insurance rates are usually about 1% to 3% of your income. Since the median annual income for software developers is $127,260 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you could pay between $106 and $318 a month for disability insurance with that salary. [1]

Disability insurance rates also depend on age, medical history, health, and lifestyle, so it’s hard to predict exactly what you’ll pay, but here’s how costs break down by salary range:

Annual salary

Cost of long-term disability insurance

$75,000

$63 to $188 per month

$100,000

$83 to $250 per month

$125,000

$104 to $313 per month

$150,000

$125 to $375 per month

$175,000

$146 to $438 per month

$200,000

$167 to $500 per month

$225,000

$188 to $563 per month

$250,000

$208 to $625 per month

$275,000

$229 to $688 per month

$300,000

$250 to $750 per month

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The best disability insurance companies for software engineers

The best disability insurance company for software engineers will offer helpful riders, reliable customer service, and will have experience working with high-earners.

Some of the best disability insurance companies for software engineers include:

What we like …

BBB rating

AM Best rating

Ameritas

Includes a survivor benefit for your beneficiary if you pass away.

A+

A

Guardian

Offers lifetime continuous benefits for total disabilities, even after the policy expires.

A+

AA+

Massachusetts Mutual

Offers a future insurability rider that's good until your 60th birthday.

A

A++

Principal

Offers a lump-sum payment of $62,400 in addition to regular benefits if you're presumptively disabled.

A+

A+

The Standard

Includes a family care benefit if you have to take time off to care for a sick loved one.

A+

A

How to get disability insurance as a software engineer

You can find the best disability insurance for software engineers by following these steps:

  1. Calculate how much coverage you need Choose your monthly benefit amount, the maximum amount of time your benefits can last, and your elimination period (the time you need to wait before your payments start).

  2. Consider riders Understand options for modifying your coverage and add whichever ones make sense for your needs.

  3. Compare disability insurance quotes Use an online marketplace like Policygenius to see and compare your options.

  4. Fill out a formal application Fill out a longer and more detailed application with information about your employment and health history.

  5. Complete a phone interview Answer questions about your medical history and lifestyle, including any risky hobbies or habits (like smoking).

  6. Go through underwriting Complete a medical exam, verify your income, and get a statement from a doctor (APS) about your health.

  7. Sign your policy and get covered Sign and send back your policy to start your coverage (the underwriting process can take four to six weeks).

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

Frequently asked questions

How much disability insurance do software engineers need?

You should have enough disability insurance to cover what you make as a software engineer. Disability insurance should cover up to 60% of your salary — close to your after-tax income.

What disability insurance should you get if you’re a startup employee?

If you’re a software engineer at a startup, you can still get disability insurance. If you don’t have a high salary, you may have to see if any insurance companies will allow you to over-insure, which means that you buy more insurance than your salary because you expect to earn more later.

What elimination period is best for startup employees?

You will want a shorter waiting period if you don’t have much in savings to fall back on. Insurance companies let you choose an elimination period of 30 days to up to two years. A longer elimination period is cheaper, but you won’t be able to collect any benefits until after your elimination period ends.

References

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Policygenius uses external sources, including government data, industry studies, and reputable news organizations to supplement proprietary marketplace data and internal expertise. Learn more about how we use and vet external sources as part of oureditorial standards.

  1. Bureau of Labor Statistics

    . "

    Software Developers Pay

    ." Accessed November 21, 2023.

Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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