Cause of disability. Some policies provide benefits only if you are injured in an accident. Others pay if you become injured and ill. The best policies cover both accidents and illness, and they pay no matter how you become disabled. Insurers usually will not pay disability benefits if an injury is caused by a suicide attempt, drug abuse, a crash of a noncommercial aircraft, military service or a normal pregnancy.
Residual benefits are partial benefits.
For example, if you are healthy enough to work one day a week or earn 20 percent of your former income by performing less demanding tasks, a policy offering residual benefits will pay you 80 percent of the full benefit. The more you work, the less residual funds you receive. Your monthly benefit is based on your level of income before you become disabled. You can expect anywhere from 60 percent to 80 percent of your predisability income from all sources combined. Higher paid workers tend to receive a smaller percentage of their former pay than do lower paid workers.