A software engineer, a private equity associate, a management consultant, and a CPA can buy identical disability coverage and pay very different premiums, because each carrier may class them differently. The class is set from duties, income, education, and the stability of the employer, and each of the five carriers we place runs its own scale with its own labels. Guardian counts down from 6, Principal from 6A+, and Ameritas from 6A, while MassMutual tops out at 5A/5 and The Standard at 5A. A role that sits at the top of one carrier's scale can sit two or three steps down at another.
The premiums below come from Seaworthy's 2026 quote study, 139 illustrations our team ran in August 2026 at Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, The Standard, and Ameritas, and every one is a standard rate for a healthy applicant before underwriting.
How the five carriers class tech, finance, and consulting roles
All five carriers can write true own-occupation coverage for these roles, so the first place they separate is the class. The table sets out the classes each carrier's current guide assigns, as of 2026, and where a guide gives a test instead of a named occupation, the test is what the table shows.
| Carrier | Tech and data roles | Finance roles | Consulting, accounting, and management |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Data scientists at 5, one step below its top class of 6 | Investment and private equity bankers at 5. Hedge fund and derivative managers and office-only venture capitalists at 3 | CPAs at 6. Consultants at 5. Class 6 asks for a firm in business five years or more with ten or more employees, office duties only, and $75,000 or more of pay |
 | Office-based tech roles generally at 6A. In California and New York its top office classes run 5A-Select | Set by duties, education, work environment, and financial stability | CPAs at 6A+, the top of its office scale, and at 5A-Select in California and New York |
 | Software engineers with a computer science degree or five years in the field at 5A/5, the top of its scale, alongside data scientists, security specialists, and systems analysts | Investment bankers at 5A and banking executives at 5A/5. Hedge fund managers, venture capitalists, and CFA charterholders move from 3A to 5A/5 as income rises past $250,000 | CPAs at 5A/5. Consultants at 5A above $100,000 with five years of experience, when not paid on commission and not working from home |
 | Classed from its occupation list. Data scientists with a master's degree or doctorate qualify for its Preferred Occupation Discount at 5A | Hedge fund managers, investment bankers, venture capitalists, stockbrokers, financial analysts, and mortgage bankers at 5A from $200,000 in each of the last two years, 4A from $100,000 | CPAs at 5A, the top of its scale. Most other professional, technical, and managerial roles sit at 3A unless listed higher |
 | 6A for experienced office professionals with at least $100,000 of stable income, 5A from $60,000 | Fund managers, portfolio managers, investment bankers, private equity managers, venture capitalists, and traders at 5A with $150,000 for two years, otherwise 4A. These roles need two years of income documents | Same test as tech roles. Business owners with a 20 percent stake in a stable two-year business and five full-time employees move up one class from 4A or below |
Finance roles split the carriers furthest. Guardian classes an employed hedge fund manager at 3 whatever the fund pays, and MassMutual prices the same person on an income ladder that ends at its top class. Traders and brokers at MassMutual follow a similar ladder, with the top class reserved for those who have earned $250,000 or more for three years and spent five years in the business.
Tech sits closer together. MassMutual's top class for credentialed engineers and data roles, Principal's general 6A treatment of office-based tech, and Ameritas's income test all tend to put a senior engineer in one of the most favorable classes available, while Guardian places data scientists one step below its top. Consultants are the role most exposed to a travel or commission question, since MassMutual's 5A description asks for minimal travel and its 5A consultant entry excludes those paid on commission or working from home.
What each step down a class ladder costs
In Seaworthy's 2026 quote study, a 35-year-old man in each carrier's top office class, the class CPAs reach at all five carriers, pays $238 to $322 a month for $10,000 a month of true own-occupation coverage, and a woman pays $395 to $535. Tech, finance, and consulting roles land in that class or a step lower depending on the carrier. At 5 or 5A, one step below the top at most of the carriers, the range is $286 to $361 for a man and $484 to $549 for a woman. At 4 or 4A it is $372 to $456 and $637 to $681, and at 3 or 3A it is $404 to $560 and $690 to $868.
| Class tier, age 35, $10,000 a month, Texas, fully loaded | Male applicant | Female applicant |
|---|---|---|
| Each carrier's top office class | $238 to $322 | $395 to $535 |
| 5 or 5A | $286 to $361 | $484 to $549 |
| 4 or 4A | $372 to $456 | $637 to $681 |
| 3 or 3A | $404 to $560 | $690 to $868 |
Monthly premium ranges across the five major carriers we place, 2026 quote study, before any association, multi-life, or employer discount. The top-class row uses Guardian 6, Principal 6A+, MassMutual 5A/5, Ameritas 6A, and The Standard 5A. The Standard tops out at 5A, so its 5A appears in both of the first two rows.
The ranges overlap, so the cleaner measure is what a lower class costs at the same carrier. Measured carrier by carrier on the male profile, the 5 or 5A class cost 14 to 35 percent more than the top class at the four carriers whose top sits above 5A. The 4 or 4A class cost 27 to 68 percent more, and the 3 or 3A class cost 48 to 118 percent more. The female profile moved by nearly the same proportions, 15 to 36, 27 to 71, and 49 to 120 percent.
A woman in the top office class pays 47 to 70 percent more than a man at the same carrier, and the cost of living adjustment rider accounts for 10 to 17 percent of a top-class premium, which brings the male range to $198 to $268 without it, figured carrier by carrier. Each extra $1,000 of monthly benefit adds $22 to $31 a month at the top office class, measured between each carrier's own $5,000 and $15,000 illustrations. How the same top-class policy moves with age and state is laid out on our attorney carrier comparison, since attorneys price in the same classes.
How the carriers count bonus, RSU, and finance income
Income sets how much benefit a carrier will issue. For tech and finance pay, that turns on bonus history, equity vesting, and how much of the income is investment-linked, and each carrier applies its own rule.
| Carrier | Bonus and RSU income | Volatile or investment-linked income |
|---|---|---|
| | A bonus counts after two consecutive years with the same employer, when it is expected to continue | For financial-industry roles, capital gains are excluded, rising income is averaged over three years, falling income uses the lower of the last two years, and a swing above 50 percent caps the figure at 75 percent of the three-year average |
| | Sized to earned income. Non-owners aged 18 to 50 need no financial documents up to $10,000 a month | Rising or volatile income is averaged over three years and falling income uses the lower recent year. Unearned income above half of earned income reduces the benefit |
| | A rising bonus is averaged over two years, a falling one uses the current year, and a single year is credited at 75 percent. RSUs follow the same rule when taxed as W-2 wages | Investment income and deferred compensation paid from a plan are treated as unearned. Excess unearned income can limit coverage for financial professionals |
| | Bonus and commission count with two years of tax returns | Partnership and S-corporation income is documented through the return and the K-1 |
| | Asks for the current year and the prior two | Certain finance occupations need two years of documents. Unearned income above half of earned income is partially offset |
Because vested RSUs arrive on the W-2, carriers generally treat them as earned income once they recur and are documented, and carriers weigh one-time vesting differently. Unvested RSUs, unexercised options, dividends, and capital gains generally do not count. None of the five guides we reviewed names carried interest, and the nearest rules would likely exclude it, since Guardian removes capital gains and MassMutual treats investment income as unearned. A fund professional paid largely through carry is typically sized on salary and bonus.
The timing rules matter most in the first year after a jump in pay. An engineer whose first large refresher vested last year, or an associate whose first full bonus just landed, has one year on record. MassMutual will credit 75 percent of it now, Guardian waits for a second consecutive year with the same employer, and The Standard wants two years of returns. Timing around a job change matters too, because Guardian generally declines a file with a recent occupation change.
How much coverage a high earner can buy
Carrier issue and participation charts typically allow about $13,300 a month of benefit at $300,000 of income and about $18,000 at $500,000, since the share of income a policy can replace falls as income rises. The class ceilings sit well above those income-driven amounts, at $35,000 a month for the top non-medical classes at Principal, MassMutual, The Standard, and Ameritas, and at $30,000 at Guardian, rising to $35,000 alongside non-taxable group coverage and $42,000 alongside taxable group coverage. Above roughly $800,000 of income, MassMutual's Executive Select program can issue up to $60,000 a month for the most favorably classed professionals, replacing roughly half of income where a group plan sits underneath and about a quarter without one, and it is not offered in California or Florida.
Group long-term disability plans commonly define covered earnings as base salary, cap the benefit in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, pay a taxable benefit when the employer pays the premium, and end when you leave. In the Seaworthy 2026 High Earner AI and Income Protection Survey, 26 percent of the 546 respondents with employer coverage and bonus, commission, or equity pay believed their plan replaces that variable income, and another 15 percent did not know. The mechanics of sizing an individual policy around equity pay are on our RSU and equity compensation guide.
How many tech and finance earners have no coverage at all
The same survey, fielded September 11 to 17, 2026, among 1,028 employed adults in households earning $100,000 or more, asked about coverage of any kind. Among the 192 technology workers, 24 percent had no disability insurance, individual or group, and among the 108 finance and accounting workers the figure was 30 percent. That compares with 29 percent of 165 healthcare workers, 36 percent of 135 education and government workers, and 42 percent of 200 workers in other professional services. The full results and method are on the survey page.
Mental health coverage, residual terms, and discounts
None of the five carriers we place requires the 24-month mental and nervous limitation for these office classes in Texas, so each can write the full benefit period. Guardian, Principal, The Standard, and Ameritas write the full period by default and offer the limitation as an elective discount, and MassMutual removes its built-in limitation through the Maximum Benefit Period Endorsement for about 14 percent more premium. In California none of the five leaves the full benefit period available, and Principal also requires the limitation in New York and on individual Florida policies. The carrier-by-carrier detail is in our mental and nervous limitation guide.
Residual benefits start at a 15 percent loss of income at Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, and Ameritas and at 20 percent at The Standard, and MassMutual pays during the first six months on a loss of time or duties with no income loss required. On discounts, The Standard takes 20 percent off at 5A for its Preferred Occupation list, which names data scientists with graduate degrees, licensed professional engineers, economists, and qualifying executives, managers, and consultants. Employer and association programs at the other carriers typically run 10 to 20 percent, and every range on this page sits before any of them.
How the study was run
Our team generated the illustrations in August 2026 at each of the five carriers, pricing each carrier's non-medical class ladder, which is Guardian 6, 5, 4, and 3, Principal 6A+, 5A, 4A, and 3A, MassMutual 5A/5, 5A, 4A, and 3A, Ameritas 6A, 5A, 4A, and 3A, and The Standard 5A, 4A, and 3A. The baseline is a 35-year-old non-smoker in Texas earning $220,000, as a man and as a woman, with $10,000 a month of benefit, a 90-day elimination period, benefits to age 65, a true own-occupation definition, the full rider package, and no discount. The male profile was also run at 28, at 45, at $5,000 and $15,000 of benefit, and in California and New York. At Principal the top row uses 6A+, the class its current occupation schedule assigns CPAs and attorneys, and Principal classes office-based software developers one step lower, at 6A, so its 5A tier sits two steps below its top. Class assignments come from each carrier's 2025 or 2026 producer and occupation guides, and the survey figures come from the Seaworthy 2026 High Earner AI and Income Protection Survey, n=1,028, reported unweighted.
Several figures are derived. The class-step percentages and the female-to-male percentage compare each carrier with itself, the without-COLA figure removes the COLA premium itemized on each illustration, and the per-$1,000 figure is each carrier's slope between its own $5,000 and $15,000 quotes. These are standard rates for a hypothetical healthy applicant, and filed rates change, so we intend to repeat the illustrations on a six-to-twelve-month cycle. This page is educational, and the policy language governs every contract point it summarizes.
Running the comparison for your role
We start with the class each carrier will assign the role, because that single input moved the premium more than any rider in the study, and for finance roles we check it before anything else. Then we build the income file around the bonus and vesting history each carrier will read, and price the carriers that class the role best beside the one with the strongest contract. A software engineer weighing the five on contract terms alone can start with our software engineer carrier comparison, and the cost across every occupation group is on what disability insurance costs.