Disability insurance pays after the elimination, or waiting, period. This is a set number of weeks (varies among policy conditions) where the insurance company assess the claim, or a time set to dovetail with employment insurance (EI). The elimination period for some individual policies can be adjusted (the longer the wait, the lower the premium, typically). Know your elimination period and plan to self insure with savings during that time. While the elimination period can be short (as seen with short-term disability claims), do not expect an immediate payout. A typical length of this waiting period is 90 days though it can be shorter or longer.