Home

About

Group Insurance

Medical

Life

Disability

Vision & Dental

Strategic Partners

Supplemental Benefits

The Council for Disability Awareness reports that 5% of working Americans experience a short term disability every year. Whether from illness, an injury, or even pregnancy, these employees can become unable to work for up to six months.

When an employee suffers an illness or injury that prevents them from working, employers have some decisions to make. It’s important to have a short-term disability plan in place so your company can handle absences like these without interruptions. Short term disability insurance helps pick up the slack if any of your employees must take leave due to a disabling event.

What is Short Term Disability Insurance?

Short term disability insurance is indefinable without knowing what a short term disability is. Short term disabilities are temporary conditions that keep an employee from working.

For example, recovering from a c-section is a short term disability. However, losing one’s eyesight is not. That would be a long term disability.

Often, these disabilities do not exceed six months. So, an injury that requires years of physical therapy would not be a short term disability. But, a broken toe or sprained ankle is.

If your business has more than 50 full-time workers, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 protects their positions and benefits. Depending on the state you live in, you may also have to augment their salary or pay them in full during their absence.

Instead of paying out of pocket, employers use short term disability insurance to save money. This coverage augments a portion of an employee’s salary if they are unable to work due to a temporary illness or injury. Often, providers offer it as an add-on to medical and life insurance policies.

Benefits of Short Term Disability

Small and midsize businesses benefit from short term disability insurance because it’s an invaluable safety net. Some of the ways short term disability insurance can help your business are:

  • Lowers cost of paying disabled employees on leave
  • Retaining employees by providing peace of mind
  • Affordable add-on to typical medical insurance

Overall, short term disability insurance is a small investment that goes a long way. Almost every business no matter how small can enjoy its benefits.

Conditions that Qualify for Short Term Disability

In general, the best way to know which conditions qualify for short term disability leave is to consult your insurance provider. But, there are some common conditions that often qualify for this type of leave:

  • Pregnancy and childbirth
  • Personal injuries and accidents
  • Maternity leave without pay
  • Qualifying mental health issues
  • Long COVID

After you consult with your insurance provider, release policies regarding the parameters of your short term disability offerings. These policies should address the conditions and length of short term disability leave at your company.

Ready to Implement Short Term Disability Insurance?

Insurance is a necessary part of running any business, but it can become complicated. Semple Solutions is a total package medical insurance provider that places transparency and simplicity at the top of our priorities. We’re a vision and dental insurance provider for small to mid-sized companies, but we also specialize in short term disability insurance.

Our custom insurance plans, expertise, and attention to detail set the standard for small and midsize business insurance. If you’re ready for a custom insurance plan that suits your needs, contact Semple Solutions for a free consultation.

Skip to content