Many Americans are not financially prepared for income loss during an illness or injury. Disability insurance helps protect income. 

Income is essential to a household's finances and is closely linked to overall well-being. And, along with many things that are innately important to people — health, home, and family — income is worth protecting.

73% of workers feel they have not completely recovered financially from their most recent disability leave.

For a variety of reasons that range from a lack of understanding to a lack of employer-subsidized availability, however, workers don't protect their income at the kind of rates they protect their medical health, oral health, or their end-of-life circumstances. In fact, ownership has been dropping steadily. In 2025, only 43% of working Americans owned disability insurance.

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Guardian’s 2023 disability insurance report can be found here Download

Unless otherwise noted, all information is from the 14th Annual Guardian Workplace Benefits Study, 2025.