For Scott Rider, running was his life. It gained him a slot in the Olympic trials and sustained him as a hobby as he and his high-school sweetheart, Kelly, married and raised three children.
Running is also how he found out he had Parkinson's disease.
It began subtly, when Scott's toes didn't "work as they should." After several years of being misdiagnosed, he finally learned the truth at just 47.
Now, cognitive and physical limitations have put an end to his career in financial services. And he relies on Kelly to help him with tasks most people take for granted, like tying his shoes.
One thing hasn't changed, however. He and his family have been able to maintain the same lifestyle they had prior to his diagnosis—thanks to the disability insurance he purchased. It replaces a significant portion of the income he once earned.
"Without it, I don't know where we'd be," says Scott. "I'm fortunate I understood early on that my income was my most valuable asset, and that I needed to insure it."
Why this story matters
Stories like Scott's are a reminder that the biggest financial asset in many households is not an investment account — it is the ability to earn an income year after year. When that income stops because of illness or injury, everyday obligations do not pause with it.
Mortgage payments, groceries, childcare, property taxes, and transportation costs continue. In many families, a diagnosis also creates new expenses at the exact moment one income disappears or becomes uncertain.
What disability insurance actually protects
Disability insurance is designed to replace a portion of earned income when a medical condition prevents you from working. That monthly benefit can help a household keep paying core bills without draining savings or selling long-term investments at the wrong time.
That is different from life insurance or critical illness insurance. Life insurance is there to protect others if you die. Critical illness coverage pays a lump sum after a covered diagnosis. Disability coverage is the policy built for the risk that you survive, but cannot keep earning the same way you do today.
Lessons for families and business owners
Scott understood a point that is easy to delay until it is too late: insurance works best when you arrange it while you are still healthy enough to qualify on good terms.
Three practical lessons stand out:
- income replacement deserves the same planning attention as debt protection
- a long working life can be interrupted by conditions that do not seem obvious at first
- maintaining a family's lifestyle often depends on a monthly benefit, not just a one-time payout
When to review your own coverage
It is worth reviewing disability protection if your household depends heavily on one income, if your employer coverage would not fully replace your earnings, or if your expenses have grown since you last looked at a policy.
If you want help comparing personal coverage with what you already have through work, start with our coverage planning page or review the details on our disability insurance page.