How's Everyone Doing in LTL Right Now?

This is one of the reasons I carry critical illness insurance.

If I end up off for a variety of reasons for a minimum amout of time, I can use it and it's a one time $50,000 payment.

 

I pay about $2500 a month for a townhouse

 

I bought my first house last year and that's just a little bit lower than my numbers. It's one of the reasons why I moved on from my 40 hour a week job, because I could pay my bills but there wasn't much left over to put into savings.

Still, it's about the same amount that I was paying in rent, so I'm more than happy to pay my mortgage instead and get the equity as my reward.

 

I also have that insurance. My question is if our policy is written the same way as yours. My buddy was in the hospital for only 2 days or so. He said he was fine to work, it was DOT that took away his license. So, would the insurance still cover someone if DoT sidelines you vs the doctor?

I guess I could ask my colleague, but I don't know if that is something too personal. As far as I know he may have had to sell some of his prized possessions to make ends meet while being out.

 

Yeah, I checked my policy and it comes down to what the diagnosis was specifically, but if it was named in the policy then it covers it as that was the base reason for being unable to work.

Still, id rather never need it! But I'm getting to the age where stuff happens...I'm 56 now.

My wife spent 18 days in the hospital in February due to type 2 diabetes complications. Fortunately she has short term disability through work. I dont though.

 

Depends on the policy would need to ask the Benefits department, is is injury, illness, both, and there are typically a list of what qualifies.

 

That would be the way to go. Reread the policy or call the insurer. I got the same policy and pay $6 a paycheck into it so it would be worth exploring.

In my coworker's case though, it wouldn't be the actual medical condition that is keeping him from working, it's the DoT. So that might be an area where the insurer might says "hey man, your claim is only valid if you haven't been medically cleared or discharged. The hospital did both.".

 

Hope your wife is doing ok. My buddy at work turned 50 himself. He flat out told me: "As soon as you hit 50, that's it. Your body's warranty has officially expired".

Either way, it is giving me food for thought on how to better insure myself next year. My wife stuffed the kids into daycare. And took her mom hat off and is now going to school to be a lab tech. She may end up getting us better insurance if she can get a job at the hospital.

 

Everyone's situation is different but in general, people are over insured.

Insurance companies want to take your money and not pay it back. How many times have you heard of someone getting into a battle over the fine print of their insurance claim. Remember Luigi Mangioni? Or a broke down truck driver who needs his warranty to kick in, but instead is parked for weeks while assessors bicker with the mechanic. Same thing.

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2010ltr.pdf

See page 10 about floats.

Take the money you would pay for insurance, and build your own float.

"You could do all that and still have a catastrophic accident that bankrupts you."

True. The smaller risk of losing everything is weighed against the quantities of time and effort gained by saving and investing instead of paying into someone else's float.

Even if the catastrophic event happens, you are not 100% guaranteed the insurance you may be entitled to. You may need to hire a lawyer, or an assessor (again, see above). All this adds costs and reduces your payout.

Especially for the young: self insure. Self insure and control your risks. Exercise. Heart problems are very common in trucking. Eat decently. Sleep. Drive carefully. Pre-trip. Bring risks down as much as you can. You have some control over your own actuarial table. If you're young you have the chance to earn explosive returns over 30-50 years. A few hundred dollars today could end up costing you tens of thousands if you never need the coverage.