And then of course there are the prop bets. You know the weird list of things that people can supposedly bet on during the game.
- Is it heads or tails on the coin flip?
- What are the odds of it snowing during the game?
- What is the over under on the game time temperature at 32 degrees
- What team will score first? Which player will score it?
- Who will be the MVP?
I have to admit that it gets a little ridiculous. Does anyone really care about these things?
The rate at which star players are disappearing from the field due to injury is alarming. I’m not sure how your team fared injury wise this year, but my team had so many guys on injured reserve that they had to take a separate team photo this year. We also saw some gruesome injuries to some key players in the Conference Championship games over the weekend.
The good news for many of these players is that their paycheck keeps coming until they can recover and play again, that is, unless you’re a pending free agent like Jermichael Finley from the Green Bay Packers. A serious neck injury earlier in the season may have ended his career or at least severely limited his value. Fortunately for him, he had the foresight to buy a disability income insurance policy. With this policy, he gets $10M if he never plays another down in the NFL.
While most of us can’t buy a $10M disability income insurance policy, this same kind of coverage is available to you and I to help replace our paychecks if we aren't able to work due to injury, illness, or death, just on a little smaller scale.
Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire [1]. You’re probably not making foolish prop bets on the Super Bowl and gambling with your largest asset – your ability to earn a living.
So what should you do?
Here is a quick plan you can consider putting in place to help make sure your family is protected:
1. Contact your benefits department at work and find out if you have disability insurance coverage.
2. If you do have coverage, get the specifics on what it covers.
- Short vs long-term coverage
- Waiting period before you receive benefits
- Percentage of your income protected
3. If you don’t have coverage or your coverage covers less than 75% of your income, see if you can buy coverage through your employer. Group coverage will likely be less expensive than individual coverage, but the tradeoff is that the benefits will be taxable if you ever need to use the coverage. The benefits from an individual policy will more likely be tax free [2].
4. If your employer doesn't offer coverage options for you, or you’re just not sure if the coverage is adequate, find out.
“While money has absolutely nothing to do with my decision to play, I can sleep at night knowing that regardless of what happens, my family is financially secure forever—maybe the biggest odds I’ll ever overcome. Disability insurance is never a fun conversation, and writing those annual checks to protect myself is tough. But now, more than ever, I understand the importance of protecting yourself, protecting your family, and protecting your future earnings”. – Jermichael Finley, Green Bay Packer’s Tight-End
Written by John Mulloy
This blog post is from the Author's perspective and doesn't speak for brightpeak financial. Contact brightpeak if you want to know more about brightpeak products, and keep in mind that they are not available in all states and there are some limitations (some exclusions and restrictions may apply).
