A law-firm or accounting-firm partner is paid in partnership draws and K-1 earned income. An executive's package leans on annual and long-term bonus, and in sales or origination the commission and on-target earnings carry it. Employer group long-term disability, a standard benefit at large firms, generally figures on W-2 base salary and on none of that.
A managing director, a senior associate, or a partner can therefore be insured on a fraction of total pay. An individual own-occupation policy is underwritten on total documented earned income, and you own it independently of any employer or firm.
Which parts of business and finance pay does group LTD leave out?
Employer group LTD generally leaves out every part of business and finance pay except base salary. Bonus, commission and other on-target earnings, partnership draws, and K-1 earned income, which together often make up the majority of total pay, sit outside the benefit formula. As of 2026 that formula is commonly a percentage of base salary, often about 60%, with the monthly benefit commonly capped at $10,000 to $15,000. These numbers describe common plan designs, and a given firm's plan may differ.
A managing director or senior executive whose total compensation runs deep into six figures can reach the cap with all of the variable pay uncounted, so the group benefit replaces a small share of real income at claim time. For how the own-occupation definition applies to these careers, see our own-occupation guide for business and finance professionals.
Are partners and owners with K-1 income covered at all?
In our experience, partners and owners who draw K-1 income are often outside the firm's group plan altogether. Many are not employees in the plan's sense, so group LTD may not reach their pay in the first place. Where a plan does cover a partner, it generally does not figure on partnership draws.
An individual policy counts partnership draws and K-1 earned income as part of total earned income, alongside base salary and documented bonus and commission. The policy also stays in force through a partnership move, a job change, or a sale of the business, any of which can sever group coverage overnight. How the variable and ownership pieces get documented and counted is the subject of our compensation guide for business and finance professionals.
How large a benefit can an individual policy carry?
An individual policy carries a specific dollar benefit that the carrier issues against documented income, so the old rule of thumb that a policy replaces 60% of pay does not hold for high earners. As of 2026 the strongest white-collar classes carry a ceiling of about $35,000 a month at one carrier. Reaching that ceiling takes documented earnings comfortably past seven figures, so a typical quote comes in a good deal lower, and combining carriers can sometimes produce a larger total.
The individual benefit is paid regardless of other coverage, which means it adds to whatever the group plan pays on base. For careers where income climbs fast, look at the future increase option, under which a promotion, a partnership, or a move to a new firm can raise the benefit without new medical underwriting.
Occupation class names differ by carrier
Occupation class names for these professions depend on the carrier, even though executives, business owners, financial professionals, consultants, attorneys, and accountants generally qualify for one of the most favorable classes. Ameritas and Principal write 6A, Principal holds a 6A+ tier above it, and The Standard and MassMutual use no 6A at all, stopping at 5A and 5A/5.
All five carriers we place, Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard, write true own-occupation coverage for these professions, which continues to pay if you cannot perform the duties of your own occupation even if you take other work. The five differ, in our experience as of 2026, on the sizing of variable and ownership pay, on the wording of the own-occupation definition, and on price, so we run all five on every case. Our carrier comparison for business and finance professionals sets their contract language side by side.
What else should you check in your firm's plan?
A firm's group plan should also be checked for who pays the premium, how long its own-occupation test runs, and what happens when you leave. When the employer funds the premium, the benefit is generally taxable income under IRS Publication 525, and for a professional in the top brackets a combined federal and state marginal rate commonly runs in the 30% to 40% range. Tax treatment depends on your situation, so confirm specifics with a tax professional.
Group plans also commonly move from an own-occupation test to an any-occupation standard after about 24 months, and the coverage ends the day you leave the employer or firm. Our group vs. individual guide walks through each of those limits. The group plan is still worth keeping alongside an individual policy, since it is often cheap or free and covers part of your base.
Where to start
The place to start is your firm plan's own numbers, meaning the base-only formula, the monthly cap, and the own-occupation window, measured against your total compensation. A quote comparison then shows what each carrier would issue against your documented income.
Exclusions or ratings appeared on about 28% of individual policies in Seaworthy's 2026 audit of the placed book, with mental and nervous conditions leading the list (State of Disability Underwriting). Contesting the unjustified ones is part of our work, and applying while you are healthy is what keeps a record clean enough to push back on. For the wider view of how we approach executives, attorneys, and finance professionals as a group, start at the business and finance overview.