Many Americans are doing without disability insurance, often because it’s notoffered by their employer, according to a new survey by OneAmericaand the Harris Poll. OneAmerica, an insurance and financialservices company based in Indianapolis, found that only 34 percentof employees surveyed say they have disability insurance.

The survey of 2,100 U.S. adults, revealed that among employedAmericans who do not have short- or long-term disability insuranceprovided by their employer, 43 percent say the reason is becausetheir employer does not offer it.

Only 14 percent say the reason they don’t have it is becausethey cannot afford coverage; a combined 34 percent don’t havepolicies through their employer due to other obligations orexpenses they feel are higher priorities (12 percent), don’t seethe value (12 percent), or say “I am healthy and don’t need it” (14percent).

According to Steven Lynch, vice president of national sales andservice for OneAmerica, there’s a lack of awareness among Americanworkers on how valuable disability insurance can be.

“The three cornerstones of financial wellness starts with lifeinsurance, disability insurance, and retirement services,”he says.

“A lot of people in the industry just aren’t talking about itthat much. There’s a lot of noise about the ACA, and benefitproducts such as accident insurance or critical illness insurance.We’ve been getting away from our foundational products, andcreating a lot of marketplace confusion.”

OneAmerica officials say the survey was released in May inconjunction with Disability Insurance Awareness Month. They addthat the insurance brokerage industry can do more to educateconsumers on protecting income through disability insurance.

“People insure their homes, their cars, their health, but toooften they don’t consider the importance of insuring their paycheck— and that’s the foundation on which a person builds, and sustains,all of those other financial goals,” says Jim McGovern, senior vicepresident of employee benefits for the company.

“Our survey illustrates what we know from personal experience —there are millions of businesses that could offer American accessto disability insurance, yet too few offer this.”

Lynch says like other benefits, disability insurance can helpattract and retain employees and improve morale and engagement. Butthe survey found demographic gaps in workers’ attitudes towardsdisability insurance and utilization of the benefit: Only 23percent of workers with a household income of less than $50,000 ayear have employer-provided disability insurance. And 34 percent ofworking women between 18 and 34 who lack such insurance said theydon’t have it because they think they are healthy and don’t needit.

“We see a great need for education in the marketplace,” McGovernsays. “People don’t understand what disability insurance is, sothey don’t see the need for it. There is a misconception thatdisability insurance is for the older crowd, for people inhigh-risk occupations, or for people in poor health. That’s justnot the case. Disability insurance is for everyone.”