Ohio National Life Insurance is mostly known for their life insurance and financial products. However, they also offer a diverse portfolio of disability insurance products. In this Ohio National Life disability insurance review, we will examine their core disability policies and see how they compare.
You should check out our Ohio National Life Insurance review for more information on this company. Furthermore, we review their two most popular term life products: Term Basic and Term Plus.
Please Contact Us For A Customized Disability Insurance Comparison Proposal
Ohio National’s Suite of Disability Insurance (DI) Products
Ohio National named their disability insurance products “ContinuOn Income Solutions”. Their DI plans are available in all states except California. They four main types of products:
ContinuON Income Solutions Non-Cancellable
- This product is geared towards executive, professional, “white-collar” and “grey-collar” occupations.
- One of the main points of distinction with this product is that the premium is guaranteed never to increase.
- Benefit periods are offered as 2-year, 5-year, to age 65, to age 67, and to age 70.
- A true “own occupation” definition of disability for doctors
ContinuON Income Solutions Guaranteed Renewable
- This product is geared occupations such as a skilled technicians, on-site managers/supervisors, manual laborers and other unskilled trades.
- Instead of being “non-cancellable”, the premiums are not guaranteed to remain level. Premiums can increase, but they can’t single out any one policyholder for a rate increase.
- Benefit periods available are 1, 2, and 5 years.
- Maximum benefit amount is $5000 per month.
ContinuON Income Solutions Business Overhead Expense (BOE)
- BOE coverage is designed to pay owners of small businesses for normal business overhead expenses necessary to maintain the business in the event the owner(s) become disabled.
- Benefit periods of 12, 18, and 24 months.
- Available to owners of businesses with fewer than 20 employees
- Often purchased in conjunction with individual disability insurance on the owner(s).
ContinuON Income Solutions Business Buy-Sell
- The objective of this product is to provide money to assist in the purchase of a disabled owner’s business interest in the event of a disability.
- This product is often overlooked. Buy-sell agreements are usually funded with life insurance, but disability insurance is neglected in many instances.
- Benefit periods are 2, 3, 5 years and lump sum.
- Maximum aggregate benefit amount varies from $800,000 to $2,000,000 depending on occupation class
Ohio National’s Most Popular Disability Policy: Non-cancellable
In what could be considered their flagship product, Ohio National has a very strong individual disability Non-cancellable product. Some of the key points are listed below. These benefits are important when comparing disability insurance policies.
- Presumptive Disability Benefit
- Recurrent Disability
- Recovery Benefit
- Definition of Prior Monthly Earnings. This is a very important definition and make a significant difference in how the benefit is determined.
- Cost of Living Rider
- Catastrophic Benefit Rider
- Guaranteed Insurability Rider
Side-by-side Policy Comparisons
One of the things we like about Ohio National is that they believe they have strong disability insurance products. They have prepared side-by-side policy comparisons with 10 other leading carriers. This competitive analysis is very helpful since there are varying definitions of disability and other contract language. In addition, you will see very different policy provisions and riders, so these side-by-side comparisons are very helpful.
Ohio National Life understands they won’t have the best product for every situation, but they are very strong in many niches. In fact, if you look at the comparisons with the policies offered by the AMA (American Medical Association) and ADA (American Dental Association) you will see how much better their policies are in almost every category.
We use Ohio National’s policy comparisons, but we have other ways to compare both premium and benefits. Unlike term insurance, it is very difficult to do apples-to-apples comparisons with disability insurance. Because there policy definitions and benefits vary widely, it can be a little challenging. This is where a disability insurance expert can help you select the best possible policy.
Over the years, we have discovered ways to avoid overpaying for disability insurance. You can easily overpay for certain benefits that aren’t really necessary. The same holds true for optional riders.
Some carriers, including Ohio National Life, offer a Catastrophic Benefit rider that can help provide extra coverage at a very low cost. Again, an expert can help you understand your options and find the best possible carrier.
The carriers we work with, in addition to Ohio National, are:
- Mass Mutual
- Principal Life
- Met Life
- Assurity
- Illinois Mutual
- The Standard
- Mutual of Omaha
- Guardian
Ohio National’s Life and Disability Discount
Ohio National offers a 10% discount if you purchase a disability policy and a qualifying life insurance policy at the same time. This is a substantial discount. However, you can’t simply buy a term policy with a low face amount. The minimum face amount for the Term Plus policy is $1.5 million and $250,000 for whole life or universal life.
Ohio National’s Financial Strength and Stability
When it comes to term life insurance, the financial strength of the insurance company is important, but not critical. With cash-value life insurance and disability insurance, the financial strength of the company is extremely important.
Up until the past 15 years or so, there were numerous carriers offering disability insurance. Many carriers discontinued offering disability policies due to adverse claims experience. One of the reasons for this was due to mental/nervous claims. There was a lot of abuse and fraudulent claims since it is very difficult to determine whether someone suffers from an illness such as anxiety or depression. Many carriers lost to much money and exited the disability insurance market.
As a result, most carriers have limited benefits for disabilities due to mental/nervous disorders. Ohio National limits the benefit period to 24 months for mental/nervous disabilities. There are a few carriers that still offer full benefit periods for mental/nervous disorders.
A carriers financial strength and reputation are very important because you want a carrier that has a good history of paying claims promptly. It’s bad enough to experience a disability, but if a carrier is struggling financially, this could put more pressure on them to slow down the claims-paying process.
Ohio National Life Disability Insurance Review – Conclusion
In conclusion, Ohio National is committed to the disability insurance market and offers very competitive disability products. Additionally, their financial strength and strong product offering makes them a good choice for coverage. We appreciate their willingness to provide side-by-side comparisons with other leading carriers. This really helps us, as advisors, and our clients make the right choice.
If you would like a customized quote or have any questions about disability insurance, please call or email us.
