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Disability insurance rates by age

The earlier you buy disability insurance, the lower your rates will be, and you can lock in those rates for the long term.

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By

Andrew HurstSenior Editor & Licensed Auto Insurance ExpertAndrew Hurst is a senior editor at Policygenius who has spent his entire career writing about life, disability, home, auto, and health insurance. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, and Property Casualty 360.

Edited by

Anna SwartzAnna SwartzSenior Managing EditorAnna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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Disability insurance rates depend partly on your age. Coverage costs less when you’re younger because you have a lower chance of a disabling illness or injury keeping you from working.

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

That’s why we recommend comparing quotes and getting disability insurance early in life, so you can lock in low rates for the length of the policy.

Key takeaways

  • Age, along with income, health, medical history, your job, and lifestyle all affect the cost of disability insurance.

  • Disability insurance is cheaper when you’re young and in good health.

  • The upside of having disability insurance drops as you get closer to retirement age.

Methodology: How we calculated disability insurance rates by age

We calculated the cost of disability insurance using quotes for sample applicants living in Illinois who work in high-income fields, such as engineering, law, or accounting. Our sample policies had the following details:

  • Benefit amount: $5,000 per month

  • Benefit period: Until age 65

  • Elimination period: 90 days

  • Definition of disability: Own-occupation coverage

  • Riders: Non-cancelable rider, basic residual benefits rider, future benefits increase rider

What is disability insurance?

Disability insurance is basically income protection insurance — it replaces your income if an injury or illness keeps you out of work for an extended period of time. Disability insurance covers a range of disabling conditions, like:

  • Anxiety and depression

  • Broken bones or injuries from an accident

  • Arthritis or joint pain

  • Nerve damage

  • Cancer and other serious illnesses

Just like with life insurance, disability insurance rates go up as you get older, so it’s a good idea to get a long-term disability policy while you’re younger. That also means you’ll be covered for more of your earning years.

→ Read more about what disability insurance covers

Disability insurance rates by age

We found that a 24-year-old applicant can expect to pay about $943 per year for a disability insurance policy worth $5,000 a month in coverage. At age 40, this same applicant would pay about $1,597 per year for a policy.

The disability insurance rates increase faster for men than for women even though women tend to pay more for coverage overall.

Age

Monthly rate

Annual rate

Total cost over course of career

24

$79

$943

$48,093

25

$79

$943

$46,920

26

$81

$969

$47,190

27

$83

$998

$47,538

28

$86

$1,030

$47,952

29

$89

$1,065

$48,384

30

$92

$1,103

$48,860

31

$95

$1,143

$49,300

32

$99

$1,185

$49,665

33

$102

$1,230

$50,080

34

$106

$1,277

$50,375

35

$110

$1,326

$50,610

36

$115

$1,376

$50,721

37

$119

$1,429

$50,764

38

$124

$1,483

$50,679

39

$128

$1,540

$50,518

40

$133

$1,597

$50,200

41

$138

$1,655

$49,704

42

$143

$1,715

$49,105

43

$148

$1,775

$48,312

44

$153

$1,838

$47,439

45

$158

$1,901

$46,380

46

$164

$1,962

$45,106

47

$169

$2,023

$43,686

48

$174

$2,086

$42,126

49

$179

$2,150

$40,448

50

$184

$2,213

$38,610

51

$189

$2,269

$36,526

52

$194

$2,325

$34,320

53

$198

$2,380

$32,004

54

$203

$2,435

$29,601

55

$207

$2,489

$27,110

56

$217

$2,604

$25,524

57

$226

$2,715

$23,648

58

$230

$2,756

$21,007

59

$231

$2,773

$18,120

60

$230

$2,757

$15,015

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Disability insurance rates for men

Age

Monthly rate

Annual rate

Total cost over course of career

$24

$59

$713

$29,233

$25

$59

$713

$28,520

$26

$61

$728

$28,392

$27

$62

$745

$28,310

$28

$64

$764

$28,268

$29

$66

$786

$28,296

$30

$67

$809

$28,315

$31

$70

$835

$28,390

$32

$72

$864

$28,512

$33

$75

$894

$28,608

$34

$77

$928

$28,768

$35

$80

$964

$28,920

$36

$84

$1,003

$29,087

$37

$87

$1,044

$29,232

$38

$91

$1,088

$29,376

$39

$95

$1,136

$29,536

$40

$99

$1,186

$29,650

$41

$103

$1,239

$29,736

$42

$108

$1,295

$29,785

$43

$113

$1,354

$29,788

$44

$118

$1,416

$29,736

$45

$124

$1,482

$29,640

$46

$129

$1,550

$29,450

$47

$135

$1,619

$29,142

$48

$141

$1,693

$28,781

$49

$148

$1,771

$28,336

$50

$154

$1,851

$27,765

$51

$161

$1,929

$27,006

$52

$167

$2,009

$26,117

$53

$174

$2,092

$25,104

$54

$182

$2,179

$23,969

$55

$189

$2,267

$22,670

$56

$198

$2,371

$21,339

$57

$206

$2,473

$19,784

$58

$209

$2,510

$17,570

$59

$211

$2,526

$15,156

$60

$209

$2,511

$12,555

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Disability insurance rates for women

Age

Monthly rate

Annual rate

Total cost over course of career

24

$98

$1,173

$48,093

25

$98

$1,173

$46,920

26

$101

$1,210

$47,190

27

$104

$1,251

$47,538

28

$108

$1,296

$47,952

29

$112

$1,344

$48,384

30

$116

$1,396

$48,860

31

$121

$1,450

$49,300

32

$125

$1,505

$49,665

33

$130

$1,565

$50,080

34

$135

$1,625

$50,375

35

$141

$1,687

$50,610

36

$146

$1,749

$50,721

37

$151

$1,813

$50,764

38

$156

$1,877

$50,679

39

$162

$1,943

$50,518

40

$167

$2,008

$50,200

41

$173

$2,071

$49,704

42

$178

$2,135

$49,105

43

$183

$2,196

$48,312

44

$188

$2,259

$47,439

45

$193

$2,319

$46,380

46

$198

$2,374

$45,106

47

$202

$2,427

$43,686

48

$207

$2,478

$42,126

49

$211

$2,528

$40,448

50

$215

$2,574

$38,610

51

$217

$2,609

$36,526

52

$220

$2,640

$34,320

53

$222

$2,667

$32,004

54

$224

$2,691

$29,601

55

$226

$2,711

$27,110

56

$236

$2,836

$25,524

57

$246

$2,956

$23,648

58

$250

$3,001

$21,007

59

$252

$3,020

$18,120

60

$250

$3,003

$15,015

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Should you get graded premiums?

Unlike level premiums, which stay the same over the lifetime of your disability insurance policy, graded premiums start low and get more expensive every few years. Eventually you may pay thousands of dollars more for coverage than when you first got your policy.

Although this kind of coverage can make disability insurance more affordable early on, we recommend getting a policy with level premiums or converting a graded-premium policy as soon as you can.

→ Read more about graded and level premiums

Why it’s better to buy disability insurance early

The bottom line: Not only will your rates be cheaper if you buy disability insurance while you’re still relatively young, the cost/benefit ratio is also just better.

Buying disability insurance when you’re younger means you can get the most out of your policy.

Let’s say that you’re in a car accident at 25 that causes a disabling injury that means you can never return to your job.

In this scenario, you have a policy that pays $6,000 a month tax-free until age 65 in the event you become disabled and can’t work. The policy was $2,000 but, at this age, it would pay you a total of $2.8 million back in coverage from the day of the accident until you’re 65.

Now imagine that you waited until age 50 to get a policy. It costs twice as much as it did when you were 25. If you were injured right away and couldn’t work, your policy would pay out a total of $1.08 million. The longer you wait to get a policy, the more you’ll pay for less coverage.

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

How to compare disability benefits and cost at any age

  • Find your total benefits: Subtract your age right now from your age when your coverage ends, then multiply the answer by your annual benefit amount.

  • Find your total cost: Multiply your annual premium by the number of years left on your policy.

  • Figure out the cost-benefit ratio: Divide your total benefits by your total cost. 

  • Calculate your policy’s cost per dollar: Multiply the cost-benefit ratio by 10,000 to make it easier to understand how much you’re paying per unit of coverage.

At what age is disability insurance no longer worth it?

It’s probably not worth buying disability insurance once you’re a senior — if you can even find a company willing to offer you coverage.

If you already have a policy and you’re approaching retirement age, consider putting the money you would have spent on premiums toward your savings, especially if you could already afford to cover your expenses with your savings for a few years.

→ Read more about disability insurance and retirement

What other factors affect my disability insurance rates?

Age is just one factor that affects what you pay for disability insurance. Some of the other details that determine what you pay include your:

  • Benefit amount: Most policies cover 60% of your pre-tax income, which usually comes close to your gross pay. You may be able to get more coverage, but it will cost more too.

  • Benefit period: This is the maximum amount of time you’ll receive benefits if you can’t work. The longer your benefit period, the higher your rates will be.

  • Elimination period: This is the length of time that you have to wait after becoming disabled before you can receive any benefits. A longer elimination period means cheaper rates.

  • Definition of disability: Sometimes you’ll only be eligible for benefits if a condition keeps you from working at all, but with some policies you’ll be able to receive benefits only if you can’t do your current job.

  • Health history: If you have a chronic illness or a family history of pre-existing conditions, disability insurance will be more expensive because you have an increased risk of making a claim.

Ready to shop for disability insurance?

Frequently asked questions

How much do most people pay for disability insurance?

While the cost of disability insurance is usually at around 1% to 3% of your income, rates depend on many personal factors, meaning it’s hard to say precisely what someone will pay for coverage.

What age should you get disability insurance?

You should get disability insurance as soon as you can afford it, that way you can lock in lower rates and avoid paying higher premiums later on.

Will disability insurance still cover me as my income changes?

It’s normal for your income to grow as you get older. For this reason, it’s worth adding a future increase option to your policy so that you can increase your coverage without going through another medical exam.

Author

Andrew Hurst is a senior editor at Policygenius who has spent his entire career writing about life, disability, home, auto, and health insurance. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, and Property Casualty 360.

Editor

Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor who specializes in home, auto, renters, and disability insurance at Policygenius. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic and a writer at The Dodo. Her work has also appeared in Salon, HuffPost, MSN, AOL, and Heeb.

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