Why buy disability insurance?
It protects your income if you get injured and cannot work. You can get it for getting hurt off the job which is actually where most claims come from (not just for dangerous or strenuous work)
There are 2 types of disability insurance:
Long and short term
Long term till 65 or 70 years old, is the best and usually replaces about ⅔ of your income or ⅘ of your take home pay (not taxed).
You should get enough to cover basic monthly expenses so you can still live without a paycheck which is what it is for.
Additionally, try to get workers compensation with your company if you can, some companies offer this some don’t so check your options.
If your issue is very severe and could result in death you can also get social security disability if you are unable to work at all but this will require a doctor's approval.
The younger you are the less expensive this insurance will be.
Steps for shopping

1. Look for long term individual plans through your employer (you can keep it after you leave as opposed to a group plan which will require you to stay with that employer)
2. Check any professional guilds or associations you are part of as they could have deals
3. Ask your agents for other insurances
   1. You can get discounts for getting the various insurances from different places like your auto and home with disability will give you reduced premiums.

Look at getting ARDI if you have limited income
Annually Renewable Disability Income Policies
These plans will start low and then go up every year vs the normal system with fixed premium that's generally higher but stays the same for the period of insurance.
Keep in mind that

1. Most disability claims are the result of illness and off the job injuries, it’s not just for people who do hard work or dangerous jobs
2. One in four people in their 20s will need some sort of disability insurance before retirement
3. Employer based disability insurance is often for short-term coverage
4. To protect against worst case scenarios the better option is long term disability coverage up to age 65
   

You might think you don’t need renters insurance but there are several reasons it would be good to have.

1. Some of your items could be expensive to replace
   1. Go around and list things you have and what it would cost to replace, see how much you need and if it would be worth it to get renters insurance.
2. Renters insurance could be a lot cheaper than what you’d think, and if anything happened you’ll be glad you thought ahead.
3. Renters insurance provides liability and medical coverage if a guest gets hurt in your house. Similar to home insurance, if someone gets hurt visiting you they could sue and this is not covered by medical insurance.
4. Landlords may require you have renters insurance
   1. Generally if this is the case it has named perils that it explicitly covers typically
   2. It is possible to get an open perils policy but these are generally more expensive
5. Pay attention to replacement cost value vs actual cash value
   1. If you bought a TV 5 years ago and it gets stolen they’ll give you what you could buy the same thing for on craigslist when you have an actual cash value plan but a replacement cost value is for a comparable device (so that same TV but probably new with similar features)
6. If something happens so the house is unlivable (like what happened recently in Flint Michigan with the water issues) it could cover cost to live in hotel in the meantime.

Also some tips:

1. Look for best quote you can get
2. Choose as high a deductible as you are able to pay because it will keep your premiums lower so you’ll save money unless something major happens
3. Read your policy so you know what coverage you’re buying then once you get it double check and read it so that you know you’re getting what you expected

Notes:
Renter's Insurance will insure all the personal property in your apartment, but not the apartment itself.

For most people your home is your most valuable asset. If you have a home, the mortgage may require you to get insurance but their minimum criteria might not be in your best interest. You should research and pick your own plan because it will likely save you money in the long run, and if disaster strikes.
When looking at housing insurance compare the same things on policies (apples to apples if you will)

• Do they cover the same risks?
• Do they have the same limits?
• Do they have the same deductibilities?
• The same replacement cost rules?

Consider if they have an actual cash value vs full replacement value package, full replacement is better but will cost more.
Try to insure your home for 100% of what it would cost to rebuild so if something happens, like a wildfire, you know you are covered. You can get estimates on how much it would take to rebuild your house beforehand so that way you can go into the search with some idea in mind of what you’ll need to get.
If you are on a budget and need to save on a premium (the monthly cost) take a larger deductible which will come out of your emergency fund, if something happens it will save you money in the long run.
There are 3 types of housing insurance policies
Actual Cash Value - will pay cost of rebuilding your destroyed house minus depreciation
Replacement Cost Value - will pay the entire cost of replacing your destroyed house
Guaranteed Replacement - will pay the entire cost of replacing damaged place plus some (which helps for things like inflation or adjusted costs like if construction costs go up and you didn’t adjust for rising building costs ahead of time)
Consider looking for a plan including Loss of use - This essentially means if you move out because of a fire they will pay for the hotel bill.
Homeowner insurance provides liability insurance which is not covered in medical insurance (for instance if someone comes to your house and slips and hurts themselves they can sue, but with homeowner insurance you’re protected)
There are general 2 ways insurance can cover risks.
Name perils coverage - only cover risks specifically named in policy (fires, lighting, theft, volcanoes, etc.)
All Risks coverage - covers all but things listed as excluded (such as everything but lighting or theft)
Note however that standard homeowners policies don’t cover some things like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, read the policy carefully to see what is and isnt included. If you are in an area at risk for something not covered in your policy (such as an earthquake zone) you may want to consider getting additional insurance.
Most Insurance has 3 Standardized forms
HO2 which is the most basic
HO3 which is the most common
HO5: which is the most comprehensive and expensive
Some things to consider you might want to ask of policies when comparing, make sure the policies are comparable and you are not looking at one that is for only earthquakes vs one that is for only fire.

1. Are the policy limits the same?
2. Do both cover the same specific named perils?
3. Do both cover all risks except the same specifically excluded perils?
4. Do both insure home for Actual Cash Value, Replacement Cost Value or Guaranteed Replacement?
5. Do both insure property for same limits using same value
   1. Some use replacement cost for house but actual cash for property, read the fine print.

In closing, it may be a lot of work looking for the right insurance policy for you but you will be happy you did if anything ever happens. You don’t want to find out that you had less insurance than you thought when disaster strikes, so plan ahead!