Occupational disability: causes and financial consequences

Why an office job can also be affected

If you work mainly at a desk, you may at first associate occupational disability with physically demanding activities. But an office job also requires resilience, concentration and the ability to make decisions.

An illness can mean that exactly these requirements can no longer be met. What matters is therefore not only the job title but the actual working day: which tasks do you take on? What responsibility do you carry? And which abilities do you regularly need for it?

Which causes come into question

Mental illnesses, illnesses of the musculoskeletal system, cancer and cardiovascular diseases can impair professional performance. The consequences of an accident also come into question as a cause.

A diagnosis alone, however, does not automatically mean occupational disability. What counts is how severely and for how long the illness restricts the specific activity and which conditions the insurance contract sets.

Three examples from working life

The following situations are simplified examples. They do not constitute a commitment to an insurance benefit.

Office and project work

A project manager has to coordinate deadlines, process complex information and make decisions. A severe mental illness can make these tasks considerably harder over a longer period, even though the work is physically undemanding.

Trades and physical work

A craftsman depends on mobility and physical resilience. Lasting limitations in the back, shoulder or knee can make essential activities impossible.

Self-employment

A self-employed woman personally handles advice, organisation and customer care. If she can no longer cope with these tasks for health reasons, then besides her personal income the financial situation of her business can also come under pressure. Private income protection and business protection should therefore be looked at separately.

What a loss of income means financially

Rent, loan instalments, household costs and family obligations do not disappear automatically when income stops. Your own retirement provision must also be taken into account in the planning.

Reserves can bridge a period. How long they last depends on the funds available and the running expenses.

A simple calculation example: with €2,000 of uncovered expenses per month, €24,000 of freely available reserves last, arithmetically, for twelve months. Additional expenses or unexpected costs shorten this period.

The personal question is therefore: how long could you meet your running obligations without your previous income?

Planning the monthly occupational disability benefit: determining need and term

When a private BU insurance can pay

Many contracts provide a benefit if the insured person is likely to be unable, for at least six months, to practise their profession as practised when in good health to an extent of at least 50 percent. What always matters are the agreed terms, possible exclusions and the examination of the individual case.

A sick note alone is therefore not an automatic commitment to a benefit from BU insurance.

What to check for your own protection

Start with your working day and your financial obligations. How much income do you need each month? Which reserves and existing protection are available? Until what age should the protection extend?

Then check the contract terms and prepare the health questions carefully. Answer the specific questions asked completely and truthfully within the periods asked about.

If you have pre-existing conditions, an anonymous preliminary risk assessment can help clarify the assessment of different insurers before an application. A particular result cannot be guaranteed.