Calculator
If you could not work for a year, what arrives?
Most people insure the truck and the house and leave the thing that pays for both uninsured. This is the arithmetic almost nobody runs.
Why the taxable question matters so much
If your employer pays the disability premium, the benefit is taxable income to you. A plan advertising "66% of salary" can deliver closer to 45% after tax. If you pay the premium yourself out of after-tax income, the benefit arrives tax-free — which is why a personally owned policy sized at 60–65% of income can leave you better off than a group plan quoting a higher percentage.
The elimination period is a savings question, not a price question
Choosing 120 days because it saves $22 a month, when you have six weeks of savings, is a false economy that shows up at the worst possible time. Set it against the runway figure above, not against the premium you would like to pay.
What this does not cover
Employment Insurance sickness benefits, CPP disability, or Workers' Compensation — all of which have their own eligibility tests and none of which are quick. WCB covers injuries that happen at work; it does not cover the illness that puts you out for a year, or the injury you get at home on a Saturday. See disability and income protection.
If you are self-employed, start here.
No sick pay, no group benefits, and a mortgage that does not care why you stopped working. That is the case disability insurance was built for.