Ron Cohen’s Call to Action
October 30th, 2006 by Megan Mahan
Like we said last week in the Insurance Blog Wrap-Up, “No one likes to picture themselves as old…and wearing adult diapers.”
And though we were talking about long-term care (LTC) insurance in that particular video, the same points can be made, I think, about its cousin, disability insurance (DI).
Registered Health Underwriter (RHU) Ron Cohen seems to agree, saying:
Most Americans would go bankrupt within 90 days of a disability. We just do not save any money and thus find ourselves without an out. [...] Being disabled is a living hell that disables more than just the individual. It takes the whole family down, as well as friends, employees and businesses.
So, like LTC, DI is obviously a primary need. A need that many people don’t think about or prepare for (present company included). Why? Cohen chalks it up to perception. Between the myriad of late-night attorney advertisements telling people to sue their insurance companies over disability coverage and the lack of public education, Cohen says that consumers and insurers alike are getting the shaft–and changes need to be made.
That change is starting with the formation of the Council for Disability Awareness, as well as more concentrated efforts by the International DI Society and the American College. The goal: to educate the public about the benefits of DI coverage and create a more “favorable image” of the DI industry.
But Cohen says education needs to extend further than the general public and challenges insurers and financial planners to educate themselves on the need for DI, and, in turn, to teach their clients about those needs–thereby circumventing the impossible financial situation of a “living death.”
Change, Cohen adds, must start from within the industry, which is how it should be.
It’s up to us to spread the word to our own first and for our own to relay it to the public. I suggest that if you want to learn about disability insurance, you consider joining the International DI Society. Agents/brokers, regulators, administrators, human resources, actuaries, claims people, legislators, you name it, are all welcomed.
As someone who’s harped (somewhat repeatedly) on changing the image of the insurance industry, I applaud Cohen for his efforts and for pushing industry peers to take responsibility and accountability for their part. Check out Cohen’s full article couresty of the Insurance News Network here–and get inspired.






