I had a meeting with my insurance agent today, and they pushed disability insurance pretty hard. I know that's their job to sell, but it makes me think: is disability insurance for a programmer a good investment?<p>I work for a small company and it's not a benefit, and I work from home. The risks (relatively) are small: eye problems, debilitating hand injury, etc. But they are still real. Is disability insurance a good thing to have? I'm 28, but I don't have any notion of invincibility either. Are there any good options for a low risk job like sitting at home all day working from the computer?
I have it. I pay about $500/year in premiums for it. Mine is professional-based (I forget the exact terminology) but if I were unable to do programming anymore, I could get another job while still keeping the insurance payout.<p>I got it because I read a financial book that said you have a surprisingly high chance of being disabled for more than 6 months at some point in your life.<p>Look into it more. RSI is quite common amongst programmers so it's not without its risks.
I currently have short & long term disability through my employer. I haven't had an occasion to enact either. So far it's just been a nice to have.<p>If it weren't provided to me I'd probably be asking the same questions you are.