Can You Get Disability Without Insurance? 
Yes , people can collect Social Security Disability benefits , and do not have to buy private Disability Insurance to get cash while being disabled . However , to get Social Security disability benefits you must generally be disabled for at least a year , and be unable to work -LRB- or be trained to work -RRB- at any job . Private Disability Insurance pays benefits more quickly . Also , with DI , if you have the `` own occupation '' feature , it pays if you can not work at your OWN job , not just ANY job . Finally , private disability insurance pays a higher benefit than Social Security DI . You can even supplement SSDI with DI . 