New research from MetLife finds three out of fiveindividuals out of work for at least six months due to disabilitydid not have disability income protection. For those who did havecoverage, only about one-third of their income was protected.

The new MetLife Study of the Emotional and Financial Impact ofDisability reinforces the importance of determining protection needs and take advantage of resourcesavailable, such as financial advisors, employers or onlinetools.

For those who incurred a disability at least a year ago, MetLifestates less than 20 percent actually felt they had completelyrecovered financially.

"People often feel invincible and tend to drastically underestimate the possibility of experiencing a disablingaccident or illness. Although the reality was different, more thanhalf of study participants - even those without any disabilityincome protection - said they felt financially prepared prior totheir disability," said Lynn Dumais, vice president, IndividualDisability Income for MetLife, in a press release. "Now is the timeto shore up your personal financial safety net which, in turn, canalso have a positive impact on emotionally weathering a seriousillness or injury."

Experts at MetLife say while experiencing a disabling illness orinjury negatively impacted the emotional and financial well-beingof all study participants, having some income protection in placehelped blunt the severity of these effects. Adequacy of coverage,however, makes the most significant difference.

Emotional Impacts:

• 90 percent of study participants who said they had inadequatecoverage felt that the disability had a major or devastating effecton their emotional lives, compared to 63 percent of those who felttheir coverage was at least somewhat adequate.
• 54 percent of those with inadequate coverage felt that theirdisability had a major or devastating impact on theirrelationships, compared to 37 percent of those whose coverage wasfelt to be at least somewhat adequate.
• 77 percent of those with inadequate coverage experiencedfeelings of depression and anxiety during their disability,compared to 58 percent of those whose coverage was at leastsomewhat adequate.

Financial Impacts:

• 88 percent of those with inadequate coverage said thedisability had a major or devastating impact on their feelings offinancial security, compared to 61 percent of those who felt thattheir coverage was at least somewhat adequate.
• 77 percent of those who felt that their coverage was inadequatereported withdrawing money from savings, investments or retirementaccounts, compared to 51 percent of those who felt coverage was atleast somewhat adequate.
• 50 percent of those with inadequate coverage said they borrowedmoney from friends or family as a result of the disability,contrasted to 24 percent of those whose coverage was at leastsomewhat adequate.
• 62 percent of those with inadequate coverage said they arecurrently living paycheck-to-paycheck, compared to 37 percent ofthose whose coverage was at least somewhat adequate.

"These findings underscore how the emotional and financialeffects of a disability may last long after a person has recoveredphysically," adds Dumais. "It is important to take advantage ofresources such as financial advisors, your employer, as well asonline tools, to determine your protection needs."

Returning to Work

The MetLife study found that, in general, people with disabilityincome protection coverage return to work three months sooner thanthe people without coverage. More significantly, the study foundthat they were also about twice as likely to return to the sameemployer in the same function than those without coverage.

About the Study

The MetLife Study of the Emotional and Financial Impact ofDisability was conducted in March 2010 by Zeldis ResearchAssociates, and surveyed 300 people, ages 25 to 55, who hadexperienced a non-workers' compensation/ non-pregnancy disabilitythat prevented them from working for six months or more but havesince returned to work. The disability they experienced occurred inthe past 10 years.