When you think about taking care of your family, providing a financial safety net should be at the top of your list. If you’re unable to work because of illness or injury, workers’ compensation and government benefit programs can only take you so far.
A long-term disability insurance policy can help to replace your income for as little or as long as you’d like. Depending on your policy, you could receive a monthly benefit until you reach retirement age.
Breeze takes the confusion out of shopping for disability insurance. The company is simplifying disability insurance and making it more affordable than ever.
Keep reading to find out more about how Breeze can help protect your family if a disability causes you to lose your income.
Rather listen? Click play below and skip to 28:25 for our chat with Breeze.
Breeze Review: Who is Breeze?
Breeze is a disability insurance agency that provides policies entirely online. The company was founded in 2019 and offers insurance underwritten by Assurity Insurance.
Assurity has been a trusted name in the insurance industry for over 130 years. They’re one of the highest-rated companies, according to A.M. Best, a leading independent insurance evaluator.
Using modern technology, Breeze eliminates the need for heavy paperwork. After answering a few questions, you’ll have several coverage levels to choose from. You get an instant quote based on your needs without face-to-face contact or sales calls.
What Does Disability Insurance Do?
Life insurance and an emergency fund are crucial tools in your financial toolbox. Life insurance protects your loved ones if you pass away, and an emergency fund can help you through a short-term loss in income.
But what would happen if you couldn’t work for six months to a year or more? How would you pay the mortgage and put food on the table?
That’s where long term disability insurance comes in.
Breeze is insurance for your paycheck if you become unable to work.
If you find yourself unable to work, disability insurance can keep you on your feet until you’re ready to go back to work.
The company can provide a monthly paycheck to help pay for living expenses, such as groceries, mortgage and rent, utility bills, retirement contributions, and more.
An Inside Look at How Breeze Works
The company name plays on the saying, “It’s a breeze.” Because of that, it’s no surprise that getting customized disability insurance with Breeze is straightforward.
A two- to five-year policy is an excellent protection option since the average disability claim lasts just under three years, according to the Council for Disability Awareness. But your policy could last from one year or up until you reach retirement age.
A simple form is all it takes to file a claim. A team reviews your information and may ask for additional details from your employer and physician.
Depending on your waiting period, which ranges from 30 to 90 days, you could start to receive your monthly benefit check in just a few weeks.
Occupations That Should Consider Disability Insurance
While short-term disability is offered by 78% of employers, according to the Society for Human Resources Management, fewer make long-term disability insurance available to their employees.
Even if your employer offers long-term disability, what if you switch jobs? And then there’s the issue of being self-employed where you’re left to buy insurance on your own.
Whether you’re an employee or run a business where you are your own boss, disability insurance from Breeze can be a family income protection solution for a variety of job titles. Here are a few occupations that should consider purchasing a policy:
- Accountants, auditors, and bookkeepers
- Architects and construction workers
- Consultants
- Doctors
- Lawyers
- Nurses
- Any self-employed occupation
- Software engineer
- Startup employees
- Teachers
How Much Does Breeze Cost?
Breeze makes buying disability insurance affordable, no matter what your monthly budget. The policies are flexible, allowing you to add more features or opt for a more basic policy depending on your needs.
To give you an idea of cost, a policy that lasts a few years and has a $1,000 monthly benefit could cost just $9 per month. A higher benefit amount will cost more, and your premium can change depending on your occupation, age, and health history.
For example, an office worker in their early 30s without any health conditions will likely pay less than a middle-aged airline pilot with a history of asthma or a heart condition.
Overall, long-term disability insurance with Breeze is less expensive than most people think. To find out how much a policy might cost, get a no-strings-attached quote in less time than it takes to watch an episode of Friends.
What Breeze Does Best
When it comes to disability insurance, Breeze does a lot of things right. Here’s what makes the company stand out.
Available Completely Online
Historically, disability insurance hasn’t been the easiest to obtain. You’d go through a broker who would analyze your personal information and connect you with an insurance company.
From there, you’d fill out a lengthy application and undergo a medical exam. You might not understand your policy, but you’d buy it anyway because it’s what the “expert” salesperson recommended.
With Breeze, the entire process is done online, and there are no pushy salespeople. You can get a quote from the comfort of your own home, often without a medical exam.
The entire process could take around 15 minutes. When you’re finished, you could walk away with a policy in-hand.
Non-Commissioned Agents
Some insurance agents earn a commission every time they sell a policy. They may talk you into buying more insurance than you need because their paychecks get bigger when you purchase pricer policies.
Breeze is different. You can browse and purchase a disability insurance policy without having to deal with a pushy insurance agent.
Plus, none of the sales agents at Breeze are commissioned. If you talk to an agent during the process, you can have peace of mind knowing they have your best interest in mind.
Affordable Coverage
Just like any insurance, you’ll pay a premium to keep your policy active. How much you’ll pay depends on the length of coverage, the amount of income you want to be replaced, your occupation, and a few other factors.
Still, coverage is often more affordable than traditional policy options, with long-term plans that start at $9 per month.
Flexible Policy Options
A disability insurance policy with Breeze is completely customized to fit your needs. You can make changes based on your lifestyle and budget. Policy options you can adjust are:
- Benefit period
- Waiting period
- Monthly benefit
The benefit period is how long you’ll have your income replaced if you become disabled. Breeze offers benefit periods from one year up until retirement age. For example, if you have a five-year benefit period and become disabled, your benefits can last for five years.
How long you must wait to receive income replacement benefits is called the waiting period. A policy with a 30-day waiting period means you must remain disabled for 30 days before your policy kicks in.
The monthly benefit is how much you’ll receive each month as income replacement. The amount can vary greatly depending on how much you earn and how much of your income you want to replace with disability insurance.
Customer Service
It’s not every day that you look at buying disability insurance. Breeze uses advanced technology to recommend options based on your income, age, and health history. From there, you can customize your coverage based on your preferences.
Even though the system is streamlined, you may have some questions as you consider policy options.
Luckily, Breeze has an excellent customer support team to help you. An agent can walk you through the entire process from when you get a quote until you have a policy in place.
On the site, click on the chatbot in the lower right-hand corner to get your questions answered. You could also send an email to hello@meetbreeze.com or call them at (402) 256-5230.
Medical Exam May Not Be Required
Many insurers require medical underwriting before issuing a policy. The need for a medical exam is one of the reasons people wait to buy disability insurance.
Family life is busy – who has time to look into policies, schedule a medical exam appointment, and wait to hear back to see if you qualify or not?
With Breeze, you could skip the medical exam and get a fast-pass to coverage if you’re:
- 18 to 50 years for up to $4,000 in coverage
- 51 to 55 for up to $2,000 in coverage
- 56 to 60 for up to $1,500 in coverage
If you’re outside of those ranges, you’ll likely need a medical exam before your disability insurance can become active.
Built-In Benefits
Your policy with Breeze comes with several benefits built into the policy. You won’t need to pay anything extra to take advantage of:
- Partial disability if you’re partially disabled after receiving payouts for total disability
- Premium waived during the waiting period
- The waiting period is waived if you lose your ability to see, move, hear, or speak
- Home modifications to meet the needs of your condition
- Survivor benefits for beneficiaries if you pass away after receiving benefits for at least 12 months
- Vocational rehabilitation to help you get back to work after recovering from a disability
- Benefits if you become disabled from donating a body organ or bone marrow
Optional Add-Ons
Customizing your disability insurance with Breeze is simple. The platform walks you through additional options and explains each one, so you know what you’re getting yourself into.
Additional riders available through Breeze include:
- Automatic benefit increase
- Own occupation provision
- Critical illness benefit
- Non-cancelable feature
- Guaranteed insurability
- Supplemental DI rider
- Catastrophic disability benefit
For example, if you want your monthly payout to increase automatically, add the “automatic benefit increase” to your policy. The critical illness benefit can provide coverage if you’re diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness.
Drawbacks of Breeze
If you’ve ever considered disability insurance before, you know what a hassle it can be. Breeze takes the headache out of the equation by simplifying the process.
From start to finish, getting long-term disability coverage is quick and easy. But like most things in life, Breeze isn’t perfect.
The biggest drawback of Breeze is that it’s a relatively new company, having launched in 2019. Because it’s new, you won’t find many reviews of it online.
But don’t worry about your policy coverage. Assurity underwrites your policy, and they’ve been a leader in the insurance industry for over 130 years.
Another downside is policies are not available in New York or New Hampshire. If you live in any of the other 48 states in the U.S., you’ll have no trouble getting a quote and buying a policy. But residents of New York must look somewhere else for this type of coverage.
Finally, Breeze offers long-term disability but doesn’t have an option to purchase short-term disability coverage. Currently, you can join a waitlist for short-term disability coverage.
Employers typically have short-term policies available for you to purchase at a reduced rate. Otherwise, your emergency fund can support you and your family financially until the long-term coverage kicks in.
Is Breeze Right for You?
Disability insurance from Breeze is income replacement protection. If you or anyone else relies on your income for support, you’re an excellent candidate for disability insurance.
You can get a free quote to check your coverage options in about 15 seconds. There’s no obligation to buy, and Breeze won’t ask for your contact information, either.
That means you can get a quote without worrying about a pushy salesperson contacting you if you don’t buy right away.
You might think a car accident or other catastrophic event is most likely to keep you out of work. Statistically, you’re more likely to become disabled from a degenerative disease, such as arthritis, degenerative back issues, or cancer.
If you’re young, those issues are hopefully a long way off. But you never know when a life-changing diagnosis could come into your life. Instead of letting it catch you off guard, an affordable disability insurance policy can protect you and your family.
After all, if you wait until you become disabled to look into income replacement, it’s already too late.
Who Shouldn’t Use Breeze
Breeze is like an insurance policy for your income, and you must be earning some money to be eligible.
If you’re not working part-time and putting in at least 30 hours each week, you’re not a good candidate for coverage. And you should have a history of consistent income over the past 12 months if you are currently working.
If you’re already disabled, you might not qualify for a policy with Breeze. The company also doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions you might have from being in the armed forces or working as a bartender, pilot, or athlete.
How to Get Started with Breeze
The process of getting disability insurance with Breeze is simple. It only takes a few seconds to see a personalized quote.
Once you visit Breeze online, the platform will ask for your:
- Birthdate
- Gender
- Annual income
- Occupation
- Zipcode
- Nicotine use
That’s all it takes to view your initial results and recommendations, including how much the policy will cost.
If you like what you see, additional options are available to customize your coverage. You can make changes to your benefit amount, waiting period, or coverage length and add optional riders to your policy.
From start to finish, it takes about 10 minutes, and you can apply from your computer or mobile device.
If you’re eligible, you can receive coverage on the spot.
Breeze Review: The Bottom Line
Breeze is an excellent way to protect against the long-term loss of income if you become disabled and are unable to work.
Even if you have an emergency fund in place, disability insurance is a crucial part of your financial plan. Your emergency savings can help for a few months. After that, you need a long-term disability insurance policy to help support you and your family.
The platform is straightforward and easy to use. Get a customized quote from Breeze in 15 seconds or less.
Do you have long term disability insurance?
Please let us know in the comments below.
