Top carriers for Investment Bankers
All five carriers below can be written as true own-occupation for most professions. Ameritas builds it into the base definition, Guardian delivers it on the Premier package we place, MassMutual and Principal deliver it through their own-occupation rider or definition, and at The Standard it comes through a rider whose availability depends on your occupation class. Your optimal carrier depends on your specific specialty, income structure, and state. We compare all five side-by-side in every analysis.
| Carrier | Product | AM Best rating | Contract strength |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Provider Choice | A++ (Superior) | Strong contract in our view, with investment bankers at class 5 and true own-occupation in its Premier package |
 | Platinum Advantage | A (Excellent) | Investment bankers at 5A from $200,000 in each of the last two years, with a preferred occupation discount at that step |
 | Income Protector | A+ (Superior) | Most flexible financial underwriting of the five in our experience, with investment banking at 5A from $150,000 |
 | Radius Choice | A++ (Superior) | Mutual-company dividends, and an investment banking row at 5A with no income test printed |
 | DInamic Cornerstone | A (Excellent) | Investment bankers at 5A after two years at $150,000, plus a suspension option during unemployment |
Provider Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Strong contract in our view, with investment bankers at class 5 and true own-occupation in its Premier package
Radius Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Mutual-company dividends, and an investment banking row at 5A with no income test printed
Income Protector
- AM Best
- A+ (Superior)
- Strength
- Most flexible financial underwriting of the five in our experience, with investment banking at 5A from $150,000
Platinum Advantage
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- Investment bankers at 5A from $200,000 in each of the last two years, with a preferred occupation discount at that step
DInamic Cornerstone
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- Investment bankers at 5A after two years at $150,000, plus a suspension option during unemployment
Get a comparison of all five carriers tailored to your specialty
Get a Quote ComparisonWhy does disability insurance work differently for investment bankers?
Disability insurance for an investment banker turns on the bonus, because a large part of pay arrives once a year and each carrier runs its own test before that money counts toward the benefit. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts investment bankers within its securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents occupation, which reported a May 2025 median annual wage of $78,660, with the top 10 percent above $212,880 and a median of $103,030 inside the securities and financial investments industry. Those medians blend brokers and sales agents with deal bankers, so they say little about senior banking pay, though the handbook flags the same feature in one line, "Wages include sales commissions and bonuses for meeting production targets."
The five carriers we place give an investment banker similar class labels and then disagree on the rules that decide how much of that pay can be insured. The differences run from bonus history after a lateral move to deferred awards, a bonus paid in the middle of a partial claim, and the limits for analysts too new to show two years of income. Hedge fund, trading, and advisory roles are mapped on our finance professionals hub.
How does each carrier class an investment banker?
An investment banker classes 5 at Guardian and 5A at Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard, with income tests on the 5A rung at Principal, Ameritas, and The Standard. In the occupation listings the carriers issued in mid-2026, the banker is placed on the row below and has to meet its conditions.
| Carrier | Row the banker is placed on | Class | Condition for the class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment analyst or banker, under its financial industry rows | 5 | No income test on the row. Three years in the industry and three years of returns required |
| Investment analyst and investment banking | 5A, 4A, or 3A | 5A at $150,000 a year over the last two years, 4A at $75,000 to $149,999, otherwise 3A |
| Investment, under its banking rows | 5A | No income or years test printed |
| Fund managers, portfolio managers, financial analysts, and investment bankers, under stocks and securities | 5A or 4A | 5A with $150,000 or more for at least two years, otherwise 4A |
| Its bank and finance row, which lists investment bankers beside brokers, analysts, and loan officers | 5A, 4A, or 3A | 5A at $200,000 in each of the last two years, 4A at $100,000, otherwise 3A |
Each carrier's scale tops out at a different label. Investment banking sits below the best white-collar class at Guardian (6), MassMutual (5A/5), Ameritas (6A), and Principal (6A+, with 6A also above 5A), and on the top office class at The Standard. On this row, only The Standard's 5A step earns its 20% preferred occupation discount (10% in South Carolina), and the 4A and 3A steps go without it.
Guardian layers extra requirements onto the class. Investment bankers sit on a list of financial-industry titles that must show at least three years in the industry, complete federal returns for each of the last three years, and current-year pay records. Those titles are also kept out of Guardian's published underwriting programs, such as its business-owner and start-up programs. Underwriters generally class from duties, whatever the business card says, so a vice president or managing director who spends the week on live deals stays on the investment banking rows.
Where do commercial bankers, loan officers, and research analysts land?
Commercial banking titles can class higher than investment banking, because Principal, MassMutual, and Ameritas route bank officers to executive or officer rows that sit above their investment banking class.
| Carrier | Commercial bank officer | Loan officer | Mortgage banker | Equity research or financial analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank officer, 5 | Bank loan officer, 5 | Salaried mortgage banker, 5 | Investment analyst, 5. No research or financial analyst row |
| Executive row, 6A above $100,000 in each of the last two years | Executive row, same ladder | No row, placed from duties | Investment analyst row, 5A at $150,000. No research analyst row |
| Banking officer, 5A/5 with no income test printed | No row, placed from duties | No banker row. Mortgage brokers follow the broker ladder | No analyst row. CFA charterholders 5A/5 above $250,000 |
| Corporate executive row, 6A with five years at an established firm and income above $75,000 | No row. The banking officer route is nearest | Corporate executive row, as for bank officers | 5A after two years at $150,000 in securities. Certified analysts elsewhere 6A |
| Office worker, manager, and executive row, 5A at $100,000 a year with management duties, $150,000 otherwise | Bank and finance row, same ladder as investment bankers | Bank and finance row, same ladder | Financial analyst on the bank row. Credit analysts follow the office worker row |
One bank can therefore hold two classes. A relationship manager in commercial lending whose work is credit and client coverage fits the officer rows, while an associate in the investment banking division fits the deal rows. Principal's executive row also cannot be used for a title its schedule classifies elsewhere, so an investment banker does not reach 6A there by holding an officer title. None of the five prints an equity research analyst row, and underwriters generally look to the investment or financial analyst rows as the nearest match.
What does disability insurance cost an investment banker?
In Seaworthy's 2026 quote study, a 30-year-old associate buying $10,000 of monthly benefit with a 180-day waiting period pays $135 to $225 a month if male and $235 to $350 if female, at the class each carrier gives an investment banker earning $250,000. Real premiums depend on age, health, state, class, and carrier.
| Profile | Monthly benefit | 180-day wait | 180-day wait + inflation protection | 90-day wait + inflation protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male, 30 | $10,000 | $135–$225 | $165–$240 | $210–$265 |
| Female, 30 | $10,000 | $235–$350 | $290–$390 | $365–$460 |
| Male, 35 | $10,000 | $160–$270 | $195–$290 | $245–$320 |
| Female, 35 | $10,000 | $285–$425 | $330–$465 | $435–$510 |
| Male, 45 | $10,000 | $235–$420 | $265–$450 | $345–$480 |
| Female, 45 | $10,000 | $360–$580 | $405–$635 | $580–$680 |
Lowest to highest carrier, monthly, 2026 prices, Texas basis, with the 5% electronic-application discount at the carriers that offer one. Figures include residual coverage, the no-cost increase riders, and the own-occupation rider at carriers that sell one separately. They exclude the catastrophic disability rider, and inflation protection appears only where a column says so.
The table above adds the inflation-protection and 90-day designs for each profile, and the 35 and 45 rows show that buying later cost more at every carrier priced. Premium climbed about 3 to 4 percent for each year of issue age in the study (male profile, measured at $10,000 a month with inflation protection).
Once documented pay reaches $350,000, an associate can generally qualify for about $15,000 a month of benefit under the carriers' published limits. Premiums in the study rose in a straight line with the benefit through $25,000 a month, with no policy fee, so the step from $10,000 to $15,000 adds about half again.
Women paid roughly 46 to 80 percent more than men at 28, and 39 to 76 percent more at 35, when the carrier and class were held constant, which is why the female rows sit well above the male ones. Depending on carrier, the 180-day wait priced about 5 to 30 percent below the 90-day version. New York pricing matched Texas or ran up to about 15 percent higher, and California ran about 8 to 47 percent higher (some carriers sell a different California contract), a spread worth checking for a banker based in Manhattan or San Francisco.
Asked how long their savings would carry them without a paycheck, 53% of all respondents to the Seaworthy 2026 High Earner AI and Income Protection Survey answered six months or less, as did 38% of those earning $200,000 or more. Seaworthy's placed book (2026 audit) carries a 90-day wait on 82% of its policies, with about one recent placement in three choosing 180 days, so both are mainstream designs and the choice comes down to cash on hand.
The figures come from carrier illustrations Seaworthy ran in August 2026 (442 of them) and October 2026 (about 360 more), all on Texas rates and before any employer or association discount. Every price carries true own-occupation, a residual benefit, and a benefit period running to age 65, at the classes the carriers' listings give an investment banker with $250,000 of income, which are class 5 at Guardian and 5A at Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard. None of these prices includes a mental and nervous limitation, since no carrier requires one at these classes on a Texas basis, and MassMutual's are priced with the endorsement that removes its standard 24-month cap. No occupation discount was applied, so a banker who qualifies for The Standard's preferred occupation discount at 5A can see a lower price there than the table shows. For women we applied the female-to-male ratio measured at each carrier, the 180-day figures scale each carrier's 90-day price by the 180-day factor measured for that carrier, and the age-30 rows are interpolated between the illustrated ages.
How does each carrier count an investment banker's bonus?
Every carrier we place counts a regular bonus toward an investment banker's benefit, and each applies its own history test first, so the same W-2 can support different offers.
| Carrier | How a bonus counts | When the bonus falls | Only one year on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| As a regular feature once paid two years running by the same employer and likely to continue | Lowest of the last two years | Not yet a regular feature, so underwriting generally starts from salary |
| As earned income from the W-2 and the return | The lower, more recent year | No single-year rule printed |
| Paid bonus compared across the current and prior year, averaged when it rises | The current year at 100% | 75% of the current year's paid bonus |
| As part of tax-reported earned income only | Fluctuating income averaged over three years | No single-year rule printed |
| Only with two years of tax returns, from W-2 Medicare wages or bonus already paid | No separate rule printed. Bonuses are never projected | Not counted until two years of returns exist |
Guardian's rules for financial-industry titles reach past the bonus itself. Guardian averages the last three years when a banker's income is rising and uses the lowest of the last two when it is falling. When pay has swung by more than 50% over three years, it limits insurable income to 75% of the three-year average. MassMutual adds nothing for a current year with no bonus paid, The Standard credits a bonus only once it has been paid, and Principal and Ameritas average three years when income swings.
A single blowout year generally does little for later increases either. Ameritas's increase riders need a permanent rise in earnings of at least 30% for an off-anniversary increase and leave non-recurring bonuses out of it, and Principal treats a one-time bonus as unsustainable for its rider increases.
What happens to bonus history when you change banks?
A lateral move restarts the bonus clock at Guardian and generally leaves it running at the other carriers we place, which in the example below cuts the benefit Guardian can offer roughly in half.
| Carrier | Bonus history after changing banks | Other job-change rules |
|---|---|---|
| Restarts, because the bonus test needs two years with the same employer | Firms under six months old are generally not eligible. A new-hire contract must state a guaranteed base salary |
| Prior job earnings can be used until the new job's pay is documented | Pay above the prior job is not projected without a reason. Prior pay is not used after a switch to lower pay, different duties, or another industry |
| No same-employer condition printed. Two years of paid bonus are compared | No job-change rule printed for experienced hires |
| A move within the same occupation is usually considered with adequate income records | For non-salaried pay, prior history counts and projected raises are not used. A current paystub is needed after a change of employer or pay |
| No same-employer condition printed. Bonus counts from two years of returns | No job-change rule printed for finance roles. Bonuses are never projected |
Consider an illustrative vice president with a $200,000 base and a $300,000 bonus in each of the last two years, $500,000 of total pay, who joined a new bank in the spring after the old bank had paid the year's bonus. Guardian's same-employer test is not met, so its underwriter generally starts from salary, and the carriers' issue and participation limits support about $9,500 a month at $200,000 of income.
Principal can use the prior job's earnings until the new job's are documented, MassMutual's bonus test compares two paid years with no printed employer condition, Ameritas usually considers a same-occupation move with complete records, and The Standard counts the bonus from two years of returns. At $500,000 the same limits support about $18,000 a month, roughly $8,500 more than the salary-only figure. Group coverage at the new bank lowers both numbers, and any underwriter can ask questions about a recent change of employer.
A policy issued before the move keeps its benefit, class, and terms at the new bank, because individual coverage belongs to you rather than to the employer. A banker who has already changed firms can look first at the carriers that credit prior pay, and by its wording Guardian's bonus test is met again after two bonus cycles at the new employer.
No carrier among the five has a written rule for a signing bonus or a guaranteed first-year bonus, so how much of one counts is the underwriter's judgment, and a cover letter that explains it helps. Guardian does ask that an employment contract used within six months of a start date spell out a guaranteed base salary.
What changes if you leave to start an advisory boutique?
Leaving a bank to found an advisory firm puts you under ownership rules, and at Principal and The Standard the first year is sized from your last W-2 instead of the new firm's revenue. Principal uses 75% of prior W-2 income for someone going into ownership in the same field, and The Standard uses 75% of final annual employee earnings for a firm opened in the past year, up to $10,000 a month at 5A and 4A. A founder carrying an office lease and payroll can look at business overhead expense coverage beside the personal policy, and Ameritas's overhead limit, $100,000 a month, is the highest among the carriers we place.
Do deferred bonuses count toward the benefit?
Deferred bonuses generally do not count as income under the policies' own definitions, which group deferred compensation with investment and retirement income instead of with pay for current work.
| Carrier | Deferred compensation in the income definition | Exception for your own work |
|---|---|---|
| Listed among unearned income | Unearned income counts as income when it results from your work or services |
| Excluded from earnings | None in the definition |
| Unearned income when paid from a plan set up more than 30 days before the disability | None in the definition |
| Excluded from monthly earnings | A cash-method sentence names deferred pay as an exception, without reconciling the two |
| Excluded from earnings | Counted when it results from vocational activity you perform |
Guardian's Provider Choice (form ICC16 18ID) lists "deferred compensation plans" among the sources of unearned income, then treats unearned income as Income when it results from "Your work or personal services." Principal's Income Protector (form ICC22-800) leaves out "income received from any form of deferred compensation," and MassMutual's Radius Choice (form ICC15-XLIS-RC) treats as unearned "deferred compensation payments from plans executed more than 30 days prior to Disability." Ameritas's DInamic Cornerstone (policy ICC21 4601NC, residual rider ICC21 EPRES) excludes "income received from deferred compensation or retirement plans," and The Standard's Platinum Advantage (form ICC17-B180) excludes deferred compensation "as long as it is not the result of vocational activity you perform." Contract language varies by state and edition, and the issued policy governs.
Those definitions apply when income is measured at a partial claim. At underwriting, no carrier among the five has a written rule for a deferred cash award. MassMutual's bonus test works from paid bonus and The Standard reads W-2 wages or bonus already paid, so an unvested tranche generally adds nothing at those carriers until it pays out, and how a paid-out tranche is credited is the underwriter's call.
Ameritas's cash-method sentence names deferred compensation as an exception without saying how it fits the exclusion, so we treat a deferred payout at Ameritas as a claim-time question. A total disability claim pays the stated monthly benefit regardless.
Is vested deferred stock treated the same way?
Deferred stock that vests and lands on the W-2 as wages is a separate question from deferred cash. Guardian applies the same two-year, same-employer test to RSUs that it applies to bonus, MassMutual counts RSUs only once they appear on the W-2 as taxable income, and The Standard's policy counts "stock options and stock bonuses" when they pay for services in your profession. The carrier-by-carrier RSU rules are on our software engineer coverage page, where equity is a larger share of pay. How vested stock is taxed varies, so check your own case with a tax professional.
How is a once-a-year bonus treated in a partial claim?
In a partial (residual) claim, Principal and Ameritas spread a lump-sum bonus across the months in which it was earned, while Guardian, MassMutual, and The Standard leave pay earned before the disability out of current income. Residual disability pays part of the benefit when a condition reduces what you earn while you keep working, and more than 95% of the policies in Seaworthy's placed book include it (2026 audit).
| Carrier | How a bonus is handled at a partial claim | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Pay for work done before the disability stays out of current income | Provider Choice, ICC16 18ID |
| Spread pro rata over the months it was earned, with earlier benefits adjusted | Residual Disability and Recovery Benefit rider, ICC22-800-RDRB |
| Amounts earned before the disability stay out of current income | Extended Partial Disability Benefits Rider, ICC15-EPS-RC |
| Spread proportionally over the months it was earned, with earlier benefits adjusted | Residual rider ICC21 EPRES on DInamic Cornerstone |
| Under the cash method, income earned before and received after the disability began is left out | Platinum Advantage, ICC17-B180 |
Principal's Residual Disability and Recovery Benefit rider (form ICC22-800-RDRB) says bonuses and lump sums are "assigned on a pro-rata basis to each month during which they are earned" and that "retroactive adjustments will be made to the benefits previously paid under the policy." Ameritas's residual rider for DInamic Cornerstone (form ICC21 EPRES) uses close to the same sentence, "assigned on a proportional basis to each month during which they were earned."
Guardian's Provider Choice (form ICC16 18ID) keeps out of current income any "Income received for work or personal services provided prior to the start of Disability." MassMutual's Extended Partial Disability Benefits Rider (form ICC15-EPS-RC) defines current income as "excluding any amounts earned prior to the start of Disability," and The Standard's Platinum Advantage (form ICC17-B180), for a claimant on the cash method, excludes income "both earned prior to and received after the date your Disability began."
Take an illustrative banker whose herniated disc limits the working day from April 1, and whose bank pays a $120,000 bonus the following February for the whole prior calendar year. Under a pro-rata clause, $10,000 is assigned to each month of that year, so April through December each pick up $10,000 of earnings, $90,000 in all, and the carrier recalculates the partial benefits it already paid for those months. Under the Guardian and MassMutual wording, by our reading, the $30,000 share tied to January through March stays out of current income, and The Standard's cash-method rule reaches the same share for a claimant who files on the cash method.
Reduced hours show up in the partial benefit too. Guardian's Provider Choice says an average of more than 40 hours of work a week is not, in itself, a material and substantial duty, so a banker who can still manage a standard week but not a heavier schedule would generally claim under residual coverage. The guide to residual benefits covers the partial formula.
Which earnings year does a partial claim measure against?
Each contract sets prior earnings from its own look-back window, so the same bonus history can produce a different baseline at each carrier after a weak year. The window by carrier, and what it means for pay that swings, is set out in our coverage guide for quants and traders.
Can a first-year analyst or new MBA associate buy coverage?
A first-year analyst or new MBA associate can buy coverage, but until two years of pay are on record the benefit generally rests on a starting-professional limit or on the lower rung of an income-tested class.
| Carrier | Starting limit for finance graduates | What else applies to a new banker |
|---|---|---|
| $3,000 a month for investment analysts and MBA professionals within 24 months of graduation | Case by case, because its financial-industry rules ask for three years in the industry. 10% student discount |
| $4,000 a month for MBAs in their first two years | Its investment banking row prints no income test |
| No finance graduate limit | 5A needs $150,000 a year over the last two years, 4A from $75,000 |
| No finance graduate limit | Twelve months in the occupation class, and two years at $150,000 for 5A |
| No finance graduate limit | Two years at $100,000 for 4A or $200,000 for 5A |
Guardian's discount is 10% for non-medical classes 3 through 6 when the application is made while enrolled or within a year of graduation, which fits a summer analyst converting to a full-time offer or an MBA in the final term. MassMutual's investment banking row is 5A without an income or years test, so a new associate's class there does not wait on pay history. At Principal, Ameritas, and The Standard, a new banker without two years at the income marks generally starts lower on the ladder, and buying a future increase option with the policy lets the benefit grow with pay, with no new medical underwriting.
Across Seaworthy's placed book, the median issue age is 36 (2026 audit). An analyst who applies at 23 locks in an issue age 13 years younger than that, before more health history has had time to build.
What income documents does a bonus-heavy banker need?
A bonus-heavy W-2 banker should have two to three years of W-2s and complete tax returns, a current paystub, and the employer records that show what each bonus paid and when.
| Carrier | What a W-2 banker generally sends | When more is asked |
|---|---|---|
| Three years of complete federal returns with all schedules, plus current-year pay stubs | Required of its listed financial-industry titles in place of the standard documents |
| No income documents to $10,000 of benefit through age 50 | The W-2 above that, and a full return once income reaches $250,000 |
| None to $10,000 of benefit on its Express DI path through age 50, otherwise a W-2 or paystub. Two recent W-2s or a W-2 and paystub from $10,000 | Full returns when underwriting needs them, such as significant unearned income |
| None to $10,000 of benefit through age 50, then a W-2 or paystub to $15,000 | A complete return and W-2 above $15,000, and a current paystub after a change of employer or pay |
| The latest complete Form 1040 with all schedules and W-2s, or a paystub for salary-only pay | Two years of returns before a bonus counts |
Beyond the carriers' lists, a bonus letter or compensation statement for each of the last two or three years shows the underwriter which part of the W-2 was bonus. An offer letter helps after a recent change of employer, especially where the new bank pays more than the old one, and a deferred award statement shows what is still unvested. Ameritas wants an explanation of any income increase of 20% or more, and in our experience writing that explanation into the cover letter helps at any carrier.
What happens to the policy after a layoff?
An individual policy stays in force through a layoff as long as the premium is paid, with the same benefit, class, and contract terms, because you own it and your bank does not. The bank's group plan generally ends with employment, so the individual policy becomes the household's only disability coverage until a new employer's plan begins.
Ameritas's DInamic Cornerstone (form ICC21 4601NC) adds a suspension during unemployment. Once the policy has been in force a year and you have received state or federal unemployment benefits for at least eight consecutive weeks, you can ask to suspend it for up to a year. Premiums stop, and "no coverage is provided" while it is suspended, and the suspension can be used twice at most, with at least 36 months between the two.
| Carrier | When group LTD ends with the job | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of group LTD opens a special option date on its future increase rider | Issue and participation limits apply when the option is used |
| Involuntary loss of group LTD is a life event for an increase | On its Maximize Your Benefit rider, issue ages 18 to 49 |
| No group-LTD trigger in the rules we hold | Not printed |
| Involuntary loss of group LTD that is not replaced allows an off-anniversary increase | Cancelling voluntary group LTD does not qualify |
| Group LTD that ends and is not replaced allows an early increase | Apply within 90 days. Dropping voluntary group LTD does not count |
An increase still needs income behind it, and The Standard asks for income documentation with that application, so these triggers fit a banker joining a firm without a group plan better than one between jobs.
Is the bank's group long-term disability plan enough?
A bank's group plan is generally not enough for a banker whose bonus is a large share of pay. Employer plans commonly cover salary alone, stop at a monthly cap typically in the $10,000 to $15,000 range, and pay benefits that are generally taxable when the bank pays the premium, though tax rules vary and a tax professional should confirm yours. Of the 63 finance or accounting respondents with only employer coverage and variable pay in the Seaworthy 2026 High Earner AI and Income Protection Survey (n=1,028 employed adults in $100,000-plus households, September 2026), 49% thought the plan covered that pay or were unsure. That group is broader than banking and the figure is directional, and our private equity page breaks it down.
Carriers also count the group benefit against their participation limits when they size the individual policy, and the same page works through that arithmetic. The group versus individual comparison covers the remaining gaps.
How much coverage can a senior banker buy?
Under the carriers' published limits, a senior banker earning $350,000 can generally qualify for about $15,000 a month of individual coverage and one earning $500,000 for about $18,000. In our experience a single carrier will typically write around $20,000 a month for a high earner, and class caps run to $30,000 at Guardian and $35,000 at Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard. Past those caps, MassMutual's Executive Select can cover up to 50% of income for a client also covered by group LTD (about 25% without it) and as much as $60,000 a month for clients in its 5A and 4A classes with income of $800,000 or more, though not in California, Florida, or Puerto Rico. A banker who applies for, and qualifies for, the full class maximum on The Standard's Platinum Advantage can apply to Lloyd's of London at the same time without that policy shrinking, and the top-end stack for high earners is set out carrier by carrier on the private equity page.
Do own-occupation and mental health coverage hold up at banking classes?
Own-occupation and full mental health coverage both hold up at banking classes, because true own-occupation is available at the classes investment bankers reach at all five carriers and no carrier we place requires a mental and nervous limitation for finance roles outside states that mandate one. Own-occupation coverage pays when sickness or injury keeps you from the material duties of your occupation, even while you could work in another field, and Guardian, Principal, and Ameritas define that occupation as the profession rather than a job with a certain employer. In Seaworthy's placed book (2026 audit), carriers attached an exclusion or rating to about 28% of policies, and about 43% of those exclusions involved mental and nervous conditions, so applying before a treatment record builds keeps more of the coverage intact. The class-by-class detail for finance roles is on our guide to disability coverage across finance.
What changes if you move to private equity, a fund, or a trading desk?
A move to the buy side changes which income counts. None of the five carriers names carried interest, and with capital gains and investment returns generally treated as unearned income, Principal, MassMutual, and Ameritas cut the benefit once unearned income passes half of earned income, all covered on our private equity disability insurance page.
Each carrier reads partnership pay on a K-1 differently, and the portfolio manager page covers K-1, partnership, and owner income by contract. Desk traders generally class on broker rows instead of banking rows, floor traders are declined at all five carriers, and the trader rows are on the quants and traders page.
How does Seaworthy compare carriers for investment bankers?
Seaworthy quotes a banker's file at all five carriers we place and sets the class each one gives the duties on the application beside the bonus credit each allows, the own-occupation wording, and the premium. Principal has given us the most room on financial underwriting, followed in our experience by The Standard, MassMutual, Ameritas, and Guardian, which matters most for a recent mover or a banker coming off a down year, though each case is decided on its own file.
When a carrier attaches an exclusion or rating the record does not support, we push back with the underwriter, supply the medical or financial history behind a better offer, and shop the file elsewhere when the first carrier will not budge. Over 15+ years of placements, we have found exclusions are often reconsidered roughly two years after issue, once the record shows a clean stretch, and the 2026 audit of our placed book has the exclusion and design figures used here.
We took each carrier rule here from that carrier's mid-2026 occupation and underwriting rules, and each quotation from the specimen policies in our contract language library. Where a carrier prints no rule, the tables say so. To see the class and bonus credit each carrier would give your own file, request a five-carrier comparison.