Taking Disability Insurance Seriously

In Florida, as in other US states, businesses must provide certain types of insurance for their employees to be legally compliant. Among these is Social Security Disability Insurance, which acts as a financial safeguard in case an employee is temporarily or permanently disabled by an accidental injury.

This is different from and in addition to state-mandated workers compensation insurance or federally mandated health insurance offerings by companies that employ 50 or more full-time workers.

How Disability Insurance Works In Florida
In Florida, workers cannot get short-term disability insurance from the state program – but they can still apply for and receive federal short-term disability benefits. For long-term benefits (lasting a year or more), however, the Florida-based disability program applies.

Benefits may apply if a worker is and is no longer able to work or to perform at the same level as before the accident. Federal disability insurance can cover both long and short term and both partial and total disabilities. To qualify, the worker must have paid his or her Social Security taxes and have worked long enough to earn a specific number of “work credits” (usually 40.)

Florida also has a Supplemental Security Income program for those who do not have qualifying work history (if they do, then SSDI will apply instead) and have low income. For either SSI or SSDI benefits, the disability must last a year or more to “count” for benefits purposes.

Going The Extra Mile To Protect Your Workers!
The benefits package you offer employees and prospective employees is key to winning over the competition in attracting and retaining top talent. Disability insurance and workers’ comp contributions may not be optional, but for small businesses, health insurance may be.

Considering that a worker has a one-in-five chance of sustaining a year-or-longer injury, and that many shorter-term injuries can also be quite devastating, going the extra mile to protect your workers is a huge employee satisfaction factor.

It is possible to buy extra disability coverage for your staff, to provide high-quality health insurance with substantial group-rate discounts, to offer dental and vision insurance, accident insurance, indemnity insurance, and more. The more risk involved for workers in the particular industry, the weightier these considerations become – but they are always relevant regardless.

Also, taking the time to fully inform your new recruits (and periodically all workers) of the benefits of disability, workers comp, health, and other insurance – along with additional employee benefits, will help ensure full utilization, high morale, and greater workforce productivity.

Taking care of your workers protects both them and your company – and in the case of disability insurance, it’s the law. To learn more on how to not only stay compliant but to go the extra mile and attract/retain top-of-industry talent, contact Flagler Financial Inc. in Palm Coast, Florida, today for a free consultation!