What industry has the least chance of having a disability plan?

Want to know how likely someone in California is to have a disability insurance plan? Just look at the industry in which that person works, and it can give you an idea of the odds. Reports have shown that those who have service industry jobs have the lowest chance of having disability insurance.

For example, when looking at short-term insurance plans, 53 percent of people who have management-level jobs have these plans. This goes for those in professional industries or with similar occupations.

However, when you turn to the service industry, you’ll find that only 19 percent of the workers have the same plans. These numbers are for 2014, but they can be expected to be fairly similar now, in 2015, and they still show the vast difference based on the industry a person works in.

The trend also holds true for long-term disability plans, though the gap is even wider. A full 57 percent of those in management positions and similar occupations had long-term insurance in 2014. However, only a meager 10 percent of those who had service industry jobs carried the same plans.

All of the percentages have been trending up over the years, though. When looking at overall numbers, just 25 percent of workers had long-term plans back in 1999. By 2003, that had jumped to 28 percent, and it got to 29 percent in 2006. By 2010, it was at 31 percent, and 2014 saw an overall total of 33 percent.

It’s very important for workers in any industry to know about all of their rights and options if they are disabled and can no longer work.

Source: Consumer Reports, “Disability Insurance Can Protect Your Income in a Health Crisis,” Catherine Fredman, Nov. 04, 2015