Living Benefits is a term used by the life insurance industry to delineate a segment of their product offering. The original and most commonly associated product of the life insurance industry is as its name sake life insurance. In reality it is a misnomer. Its actually death insurance as the benefit is paid when the person insured dies. It's just that Death Insurance has even a less appealing marketing label than Life Insurance. Another product segment is Annuity, while technically and legally annuities are an insurance product, most consumers do not relate annuities to insurance readily.

That leaves the last product segment which is insurance paid to the owner of the coverage upon an occurrence insured against and the insured is still alive, as in disability insurance. Example, if you are insured against loss of income if you are disabled, and you break a leg and can't work for a while, the insurance company pays you a benefit while you are unable to earn your paycheck. That's a living benefit and is called Disability Insurance. Similarly, if you have an accident, break a leg, crack some teeth and need medical care, an insurance policy may reimburse you for medical supplies, drugs, dental care and the like. That too is a living benefit and is referred to as Major Medical Coverage.

There are other categories lumped into Living Benefits, here is a list:

Major Medical

Coverage for selected health care costs in the vent such benefits are required. It is available on an individual basis or on a group basis, usually through your employer, association or union. The most common individual plan is the emergency travel health insurance.

 Critical Illness

Coverage that pays you a benefit if you are diagnosed with a covered illness. The three examples are Heart Attack, Stroke, and Cancer.  You can get coverages of up to 25 covered illnesses. Typically, the benefit is a lump sum of $25,000 - $1million+. Sometimes called Cancer insurance or Heart attack insurance. Some have referred to it as Stroke insurance. In business, Critical Illness insurance is an excellent vehicle to fund a key person loss protection in the absence of a key employee. due to severe illness.

 

Income Loss from Disability - Insurance

Coverage where the plan's benefit payment help offset income loss in the event of a disability caused by an accident or illness. The benefit is typically paid monthly until the disability is over or the benefit period runs out. Other names for this type of protection you may have run accross are Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability (LTD) etc.

 

Longterm Care

A relatively new program that is conceptually similar to disability insurance. It is designed those that due to age, or  one form or another of incapacity are unable to look after themselves and need the help of in home care or institutional care, like a nursing home. The benefits are designed to offset the incurred costs of such assisted living. Most commonly used by seniors.

This section is devoted to these protection plans.~