Anyhoo, it’s something to consider in addition to hunting for third party coverage! (Great post, as usual.)

I’d also point out that there are substantial differences between an employer sponsored group long term disability plan and an individually owned disability insurance policy. A group LTD plan typically has much more restrictive definitions of total disability, which defines how a person gets paid and for how long. A group LTD plan will typically have a “decent” definition of total disability for the first two years of a claim, then change definitions to a much more restrictive “gainful occupation” definition of total disability which may result in the termination of benefits during a claim. An individual disability policy is much more likely to have a significantly better definition of total disability for the entire benefit period. There are a lot more benefits for an individually owned policy beyond the definition of total disability, but people should know that relying on a group LTD policy for income protection is typically not the best avenue, and there is a lot of exposure in relying on group LTD.