Coming Up: Disability Insurance Awareness Month

67% of American workers don’t have Long Term Disability insurance through their employers, leaving them financially and physically vulnerable.

May is Disability Insurance Awareness month, and now is a great time to learn the risks of disability, the benefits of planning and the importance of having a solid income protection plan.

We support the Council for Disability Awareness and the LIFE Foundation, who have assembled various resources to increase such disability-related knowledge.

CDA Resources

• New, improved Personal Disability Quotient (PDQ) tool– Calculate your chances of becoming disabled.
• America’s Disability Counter – Be reminded about the frequency of disability.
• The Disability Divide: Advisor Study – Explore the gap between consumers’ attitudes and advisors’ perceptions of those attitudes, about disabilities and their potential threat to their financial security.
• Earnable Income Quotient (EIQ) calculator – Determine the value of your most important financial resource, your income. Will be live May 1.

LIFE’s Producer Toolkit

• Protect Your Paycheck microsite – If you earn a paycheck, you need to protect it with disability insurance.
• Downloadable flyers
• Social media resources
• Online calculators, videos, e-cards

(Information provided by Assurant Employee Benefits)

Disability Insurance Awareness Month presents a great opportunity to educate people about the role of disability insurance in income protection. Need a disability insurance quote? Click the top right link on our home page!

Scientists discovered 1,000 genes that may be involved in autism

Improved technology has allowed scientists to delve deeper in the study of DNA to search for answers. Recent research provides new answers about genetic glitches that may be linked with autism.

From studying specific areas of DNA in families affected by autism, scientists have identified approximately 1,000 genes that may be linked to the disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, a person’s entire genome consists of about 3 billion nucleotides of DNA. Yet, a portion called the exome (1.5%) only produces proteins. The exome also harbors 85% of disease-causing mutations. Studies found that spontaneous genetic mutations in the exome lead to the risk of children developing autism.

One study headed by Even Eichler, a professor of genome studies at the University of Washington, proved that 39% of spontaneous mutations increase the risk of autism since they interfere with biological developments that are important for brain communication. The study also suggested that these mutations were highly paternal, originating in the father’s sperm.

Yes, this research is useful, but it still proves that we haven’t found a single gene that connects to autism. What we do know is several genetic mutations increase the risk of autism and that they may affect people in different ways.

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