You’re probably familiar with the Aflac duck, but you may not know that Aflac sells short-term disability insurance and other types of supplemental insurance policies like critical illness insurance, accident insurance, and final expense insurance.
You can’t buy short-term disability insurance directly from Aflac, but you can get Aflac short-term disability insurance through your employer if it’s offered as a benefit. Aflac does sell other types of insurance directly though.
What is short-term disability insurance?
Think of short-term disability insurance as a form of income protection insurance. If you’re seriously injured or sick and can’t work, disability insurance can replace your income and cover your expenses, usually for between 3 and 12 months.
While short-term disability insurance doesn’t provide as much protection as long-term disability insurance, it’s worth having, especially if you get short-term disability for free or at a discount through your employer.
How does Aflac’s short-term disability insurance work?
Aflac’s short-term disability insurance works like disability insurance from any other company. If you’re hurt or sick and can’t work, you file a claim and receive regular payments. You can use your benefits to pay for normal expenses like medical bills, recovery, your mortgage, groceries, childcare, or whatever else you need while you’re not working.
Aflac lets you choose between a handful of benefits periods (the maximum length of time you can receive payments). You can choose a benefit period of 6, 12, 18, or 24 months for up to $6,000 a month in coverage depending on your salary.
One thing that’s different about Aflac is that it only offers group disability insurance, not individual plans. That means you can apply for coverage through your employer and your premiums are deducted from your paycheck.
What disabilities does Aflac cover?
Aflac’s short-term disability insurance covers most types of injuries and illnesses, like if you can’t work for a few months because of:
Injuries from an accident outside of work
Time off for cancer treatment
An illness that keeps you from being able to do your job
But Aflac disability insurance has some exclusions, meaning types of illnesses and injuries that aren’t covered, which may include:
Injuries from participating in a riot or protest
Intentionally self-inflicted injuries
Injuries you sustained in jail or prison
Pre-existing conditions
Aflac has other exceptions in some states, so coverage can vary depending on where you live. For example, Aflac may not pay out benefits for disabilities related to drugs, mental health, childbirth, optional cosmetic surgery, organ donation, and more.
Does Aflac offer any disability insurance riders?
Aflac offers a few disability insurance riders, which are just modifications to your policy’s basic coverage.
Value rider: Pays $1,000 every five years, up to five times, as long as the policy stays in force.
On-the-job injury rider: Provides benefits for an injury you get at work even if you have workers’ compensation.
Additional disability insurance rider: Allows you to add more coverage to a short-term disability policy.
How much is Alfac insurance?
Disability insurance normally costs 1% to 3% of your salary when you get a policy on your own, but Aflac short-term disability insurance is different. Since it’s only offered as an employment benefit, you don’t have to go out and buy it yourself, and your employer may also cover some or all of the cost of the policy.
Any premiums you owe will be deducted straight from your paycheck. You won’t need to remember to make your payments yourself, but you may have to pay taxes on any benefits you receive since they were paid for with pre-tax income.
What is supplemental insurance?
Aflac is best known for its supplemental insurance. Supplemental insurance covers expenses that your main policy, your primary insurance, doesn’t.
A supplemental insurance policy from Aflac can cover health insurance deductibles, ambulance rides, rehab, hospital stays, and even the cost of traveling to a specialist depending on the coverage you have.
Aflac offers these type of supplemental insurance coverage:
Accident insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Cancer insurance
Critical illness insurance
Hospital insurance
Who else offers supplemental insurance?
Aflac isn’t the only company offering supplemental insurance, but it’s the most well known company specializing in supplemental insurance.
Lots of insurance companies that offer primary insurance also offer different types of supplemental plans, usually for health insurance, including State Farm, Allstate, MetLife, UnitedHealth, and others.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get Aflac insurance anywhere?
Aflac is available in every state, though you might not be able to get certain types of policies depending on where you live.
Is short-term disability insurance worth it?
Short-term disability insurance is worth having as an extra layer of protection. That said, it can be expensive, so it might not be worth spending money on if you can’t get coverage through work.
Do you have to enroll in Aflac if your employer offers it?
You don’t have to get insurance with Aflac even if your employer offers it, but coverage can be cheaper through your job than a comparable policy you get on the private market.
Does Aflac require a medical exam?
Short-term disability insurance through Aflac may be what’s called guaranteed-issue, meaning you don’t have to take a medical exam or answer questions about your health, but it depends on the specific policy.
