“Optimism Bias” and how it Relates to Long-Term Disability

Most readers of our blog across California might reasonably conclude that optimism is invariably a good thing. As a personal attribute, it fosters forward movement and provides energy that drives positive outcomes.

There are also scenarios where optimism either needs to be tempered or checked at the door, though. Such is certainly the case when it can delude a person into thinking that he or she is immune from real-world risks and downside outcomes in important matters.

A recent Forbes article addresses that, alluding specifically to “optimism bias,” which it defines as “the tendency to believe that bad things are more likely to happen to other people.”

Many of us have occasionally adopted that mindset, right?

It can bring especially dire consequences in one specific and narrow realm, notes the financial expert and investment officer penning the Forbes piece. Peter Lazaroff warns that undue optimism can preclude a person from proactively and timely securing a long-term disability insurance policy.

That needs to be done in almost all cases, stresses Lazaroff, because unforeseen maladies in fact strike every demographic, not just the other guy.

Lazaroff underscores the compelling point that most people will need LTD coverage far more than a life insurance policy. Ideally, most individuals will have both.

For those procrastinating on the proverbial fence regarding the purchase of a tailored and protective long-term disability policy, Lazaroff offers the reminder that the average disability -linked absence from work in the United States is nearly three years.

An experienced disability attorney routinely fights hard to help clients get the full benefits of LTD policies that are being denied or otherwise challenged by an insurer. A proven legal advocate can also respond to more general LTD-related questions or concerns that an individual might have.

Coverage is indeed important. So too is knowing that promised benefits will be available if the need to secure them ever arises.