InsuranceNewsNet Magazine July 2010 : Page 36
Disability Income Coffee Talk The Show The Need – Find The Premium BY GEoRGE G. DAvIDSoN ing hard choices, and this is especially true for America’s working class. For years, we’ve used the term “blue F collar” to refer to this demographic. Ste- reotypical blue-collar workers may be skilled or unskilled; they may work in a factory or in the trades, or performother types of manual work. Blue isn’t the only collar worn by work- ing-class Americans. There is a rainbow of other collars being worn today: • Pink – jobs stereotypically associ- ated with women, such as cosme- tology or nursing • Gray – transitional jobs, such as computer support technicians or manufacturing supervisors 36 InsuranceNewsNet Magazine July 2010 or working Americans, finding a way to make all the financial ends meet is as challenging as it has ever been. People are mak- • Green – jobs in the renewable energy industries Working-class people are looking to secure the tenets of the American Dream, such as buying a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools for their children, having access to quality medical care, setting aside money for educational needs and a family vacation, and saving for retire- ment. All these aspirations depend on one thing: the abi l ity to earn an income. We all know that there are many things that can impair your clients’ ability to work. The most recent economic malaise has reinforced the value of a good job as so many have found themselves unem- ployed due to the recession. However, it is reasonable to say there is one cause that is more insidious than all others. When disability strikes, it will hit your clients like a heavyweight’s best knockout punch, putting them on the canvas with no hope of struggling up to beat the count. We can argue statistics until the late hours of the night. I submit to you that it doesn’t matter whether the odds are one in 10 or one in a million. When it happens to your clients, the aftermath will be devastating. The economic tur- moil will quickly consume their lives. When income stops, dreams quickly die. So, how do we reconcile these two issues? • According to the American Payroll Association’s 2008 survey, “Getting Paid in America,” 71 percent of all Americans are living “paychecktopay- check” with little ability to absorb the financial knockout blowof a disability.
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