Top carriers for Portfolio and Asset Managers
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 its bank portfolio manager row at class 5 |
 | Platinum Advantage | A (Excellent) | A newly self-employed route for fund launches at 75% of final earnings, up to $10,000 a month |
 | Income Protector | A+ (Superior) | Most flexible underwriting in our experience, with portfolio, hedge fund and mutual fund managers all at 5A from $200,000 |
 | Radius Choice | A++ (Superior) | Mutual-company dividends, and a CFA row that reaches 5A/5 above $250,000 |
 | DInamic Cornerstone | A (Excellent) | One 5A row for fund, portfolio and hedge fund managers, and the highest BOE limit of the carriers we place |
Provider Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Strong contract in our view, with its bank portfolio manager row at class 5
Radius Choice
- AM Best
- A++ (Superior)
- Strength
- Mutual-company dividends, and a CFA row that reaches 5A/5 above $250,000
Income Protector
- AM Best
- A+ (Superior)
- Strength
- Most flexible underwriting in our experience, with portfolio, hedge fund and mutual fund managers all at 5A from $200,000
Platinum Advantage
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- A newly self-employed route for fund launches at 75% of final earnings, up to $10,000 a month
DInamic Cornerstone
- AM Best
- A (Excellent)
- Strength
- One 5A row for fund, portfolio and hedge fund managers, and the highest BOE limit of the carriers we place
Get a comparison of all five carriers tailored to your specialty
Get a Quote ComparisonWhat occupation class does a portfolio manager get at each carrier?
A portfolio manager generally reaches 5A at Principal, MassMutual and Ameritas once income has held at $150,000 to $200,000 for two years, while Guardian prints its only portfolio manager row under its Banks heading, at class 5. The Standard prints no portfolio manager title, so its underwriter matches the role to a row based on the duties you describe. Occupation class is the carrier's risk tier for your work, and it sets both the premium and the most a carrier will issue.
The class turns on the exact title a carrier prints, which is why a manager can sit on a favorable row at one carrier and and on Guardian's hedge fund row at 3, near the bottom of its scale. The table sets each carrier's portfolio manager row beside its hedge fund manager row, using the titles in the carriers' mid-2026 occupation listings.
| Carrier | Portfolio manager row and class | Hedge fund manager row and class |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio manager under Banks, 5. No row for a portfolio manager outside a bank | Hedge fund or derivative manager, 3. Can rise to 4 with $60,000 of salary and bonus in each of the past two years and five years in the occupation |
| Portfolio manager, 5A at $200,000 a year for the last two years, 4A at $150,000 | Hedge fund manager, the same ladder of 5A at $200,000 and 4A at $150,000 |
| Portfolio manager, 5A at $200,000 a year for the last two years, otherwise 4A. No 5A/5 step | Hedge fund manager, 5A/5 above $250,000, 5A above $200,000, 4A above $150,000. Benefits may be limited |
| One row for fund managers, portfolio managers, financial analysts and investment bankers, 5A at $150,000 for at least two years, otherwise 4A | The same row, which names hedge funds and mutual funds in its title |
| No portfolio manager row. Placed by the underwriter from duties | Hedge fund manager on its bank and finance row, 5A at $200,000 in each of the last two years, 4A at $100,000 |
Below the 4A income test, Principal's rows and The Standard's hedge fund row drop to 3A, and so does MassMutual's hedge fund ladder at $150,000 or less. No carrier we place prints an asset manager, investment manager, or money manager title, so those roles are placed against the nearest printed row from duties. At Ameritas that is generally its fund and portfolio manager row. Principal keeps a 6A row for executives and office professionals, but the row is closed to any title it classes elsewhere, so a portfolio manager stays on the 5A finance ladder there.
Why does a hedge fund title class differently from a portfolio manager?
A hedge fund title classes differently because Guardian and MassMutual print separate rows for the two titles and set them in opposite directions. Guardian holds hedge fund and derivative managers at 3, or 4 with its move-up, however high income goes, while MassMutual lets income lift them to the top of its scale.
Guardian's split is the widest of the five. Its portfolio manager row sits under Banks, and a manager running money at a hedge fund or an independent firm has no printed row, so the underwriter may place that manager on the hedge fund or derivative manager row at 3 or class the role from duties. That row also brings Guardian's financial-industry income rules (three years in the industry, three years of complete corporate and personal returns, and averaging of uneven income), which its bank portfolio manager row does not carry. Our quants and traders page covers how that averaging treats a falling or swinging year.
MassMutual reverses the order above $250,000. Its hedge fund ladder climbs to 5A/5 while its portfolio manager row stops at 5A, but the hedge fund row carries a note that benefits may be limited, and MassMutual recommends financial pre-approval for hedge fund managers, weighing the stage of the venture, the ownership interest, and unearned income. In our experience, MassMutual typically offers portfolio managers coverage without a benefit limit unless investment income is large. MassMutual also runs an executive program that reaches 5A/5 at $250,000 of income for two years at a firm at least five years old, and whether it can lift a listed portfolio manager past that row's 5A is a question for the underwriter on each file.
Which title should a fund manager's application describe?
The application should describe the work as it is done each day, because the carriers class on duties and treat the title as a starting point. Guardian and MassMutual both say that a job title alone does not set the class, and Principal looks for the specific title first, then weighs the duties, the work setting, and the financial stability behind it. At Guardian, a manager running a bank trust portfolio, one running a hedge fund book, and one running separately managed accounts at an independent adviser could land on its bank row, its hedge fund row, and a duties-based placement. Writing out the mandate, the reporting line, and how pay is earned gives the underwriter what it needs to pick the row, and Seaworthy checks each carrier's likely placement before an application goes in.
How do carriers class an RIA or investment adviser?
An RIA or investment adviser is generally classed on a planner or advisor row, which adds experience or designation tests at most of the five carriers we place and caps the class at 4A on MassMutual's planner row. Of the five, only Ameritas prints investment advisors by name, at 5A with five years of experience and $75,000 of income in each of the prior two years.
| Carrier | Row an RIA or investment adviser is placed on | Top class and what it takes |
|---|---|---|
| No RIA or investment adviser row. Financial planner, under its insurance heading, is the nearest printed title | 5 on the financial planner row |
| No RIA row. Financial planner is the nearest printed title | 5A above $150,000 for the last two years with five years in business, 4A from $75,000 with five years |
| Financial planner with a designation, or financial consultant, which points to its broker and insurance ladders | Planner row tops at 4A with five years and $75,000 for the last two years. Broker ladder reaches 5A/5 at $250,000 for three years with five years in the business |
| Financial planners, financial advisors and investment advisors | 5A with five years of experience and $75,000 in the prior two years, 4A with three years and $30,000 |
| No RIA row. Its financial advisor and planner row, or its bank and finance row, from duties | Advisor row 5A needs a CLU, CFP or ChFC, five years, and $150,000 in each of the prior three years. A CFA does not qualify |
An adviser whose work is mainly running client portfolios, with little planning, gives the underwriter reason to look past the planner rows. The Standard routes investment analysts, brokers, and consultants to its bank and finance row, which reaches 5A at $200,000 in each of the last two years, and which of its two paths an RIA takes is decided from the duties. MassMutual's broker ladder requires that the applicant not manage their own account or trade on an exchange floor, so it can fit an adviser who manages client money and does neither. Advisers and wealth managers whose work is mainly planning are covered in full on our finance professionals hub.
How are CFA charterholders, mutual fund managers and research analysts classed?
A CFA charter changes the class only at MassMutual, since no other carrier among the five prints a CFA row, and a mutual fund manager has a row of its own only at Principal. Research analysts appear under no carrier's title, so they are generally placed against the investment or financial analyst rows.
| Carrier | CFA charterholder | Mutual fund manager | Research or investment analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| No CFA row, and no current row grants a class step for the charter | No row, placed from duties | Investment analyst, 5 |
| No CFA row | Mutual fund manager, 5A at $200,000 for the last two years | Investment analyst, 5A at $150,000 for the last two years, 4A from $75,000 |
| CFA row, 5A/5 above $250,000, 5A above $200,000, 4A above $150,000. No years test | No row, placed from duties | No analyst row, placed from duties |
| No CFA row | On its fund and portfolio manager row, 5A at $150,000 for two years | Financial analysts share that row, 5A at $150,000 for two years |
| No CFA row, and the charter does not count toward its advisor 5A | No row, placed from duties | Financial analyst on its bank and finance row, 5A at $200,000 in each of the last two years |
MassMutual's CFA row sits one step above its portfolio manager row once income passes $250,000, so a charterholder running money there could in principle class higher on the credential. MassMutual classes from the work actually done, so the underwriter decides which row a charterholder portfolio manager takes, and the application should set out both the charter and the day-to-day work.
Median pay for financial and investment analysts was $102,740 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the top 10 percent earned more than $180,860. On those figures, an analyst under $150,000 sits at 4A at Ameritas and at 4A at Principal from $75,000 (3A below that), and one under $200,000 sits at 4A or 3A at The Standard, until pay clears the carrier's two-year test.
What does disability insurance cost a portfolio manager?
Seaworthy's 2026 quote study puts a male portfolio manager of 40 at $205 to $345 a month, and a female manager of 40 at $325 to $505, for $10,000 of monthly benefit after a 180-day wait (Texas basis, before employer and association discounts). Those ranges, and the table below, price Guardian's portfolio manager row at 5, Principal at 5A, MassMutual at 5A, Ameritas at 5A, and The Standard at 5A, a pricing assumption, since it prints no portfolio manager row and places the role from duties, all at $250,000 of income. A manager whom a carrier places on its hedge fund row is quoted on that row instead, which at Guardian is class 3, and this table does not price that placement.
| 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.
Take the 40-year-old first. Inflation protection on the six-month wait lifts his range to $230 to $370 and hers to $370 to $550. Shorten the wait to 90 days and keep the inflation rider, and he pays $305 to $400 while she pays $510 to $595.
Five years later the same buyer pays more, as the 45-year-old rows in the table above show, and younger buyers sit lower. The table sets out all three designs at 30, 35 and 45.
Sizing up is simple arithmetic, since each carrier's premium grows in proportion to the benefit up to $25,000 a month and none adds a policy fee, so a $15,000 benefit costs about half again the $10,000 price.
The study also measured what drives the spread. Holding the carrier fixed on the male profile, a 45-year-old paid 26 to 58 percent more than a 35-year-old, and at the same carrier and class a 45-year-old woman paid 27 to 58 percent more than a man. The 180-day wait trimmed the price by about 5 to 7 percent at the carrier where it mattered least and by 20 to 30 percent at the two where it mattered most, with 12 and 15 percent in between. Extending benefits to 67 raised the price about 4 to 18 percent. California came in about 8 to 47 percent higher than Texas (some carriers sell a different California contract), and New York anywhere from level with Texas to roughly 15 percent higher.
The ranges come from carrier illustrations Seaworthy ran in August and October 2026, at issue ages 28, 35, 45, 50, 55 and 60 and monthly benefits of $5,000 through $25,000. True own-occupation wording, the residual rider and a benefit period to 65 are in every price, and no employer or association discount is applied, though the 5% electronic-application discount is built in at the carriers that offer one. These finance rows need no mental and nervous limitation in Texas, so the figures carry none, and MassMutual's figures include the endorsement that drops its built-in 24-month cap. No occupation discount is applied, including The Standard's preferred occupation discount where a manager would qualify for it. Nobody was illustrated at 30 or 40, so those ages are interpolated from the ages on either side. For women, each carrier's own measured ratio of female to male price at that age is applied, and the 180-day columns scale each carrier's 90-day price by the 180-day factor measured at that carrier. Health history, the state you live in, and an employer or association discount can each pull a real quote away from these ranges.
How does each contract count K-1, partnership and owner income?
Each of the five carriers counts a partner's or owner's share of business profit as earned income, but they read it from different lines of the return. MassMutual takes ordinary income plus guaranteed payments, lines 1 and 4 of the partnership K-1, Principal reads non-passive income on Schedule E, and The Standard accepts either. Passive interests generally fall into unearned income, which adds nothing to the figure that sets the benefit.
| Carrier | What underwriting counts for a partner or owner | Owner income in the contract |
|---|---|---|
| Your share of net business income. Capital gains are left out for the financial titles it lists | Income from a privately held business you own, after normal business expenses |
| A partner's share of net profit, read from Schedule E non-passive income. Individual-pay limits only | Your share of the gross revenue of all your business entities, less expenses |
| Ordinary income plus guaranteed payments, K-1 lines 1 and 4. Passive partnership interests are unearned | Your share of the business's net profit or loss |
| Tax-reportable income only, averaged over three years when it fluctuates | Your share of business profits or losses, set by ownership or by contract |
| Schedule E nonpassive income, or K-1 lines 1 and 4. Passive income may be counted as unearned | Income attributable to you by a business you own |
 | Used as excess coverage or for cases the five will not write | Non-passive income on your personal tax return |
The contracts spell out the owner rule in their own words, and those words govern a partial claim. MassMutual's Radius Choice (form ICC15-XLIS-RC) adds to salary and bonus the insured's "share of the net profit or loss of the business due to such ownership." Principal's Income Protector (form ICC22-800) counts "Your share (based on ownership or contractual agreement) of the gross revenue or income earned by all such business entities," less that share of business expenses. Guardian's Provider Choice (form ICC16 18ID) counts income "from a privately held business in which You have an ownership interest," after normal and customary business expenses.
Ameritas's DInamic Cornerstone residual rider (form ICC21 EPRES) counts "your share, based on your percentage of ownership or your right via contractual agreement," of the "profits or losses generated by the business." The Standard's Platinum Advantage (form ICC17-B180) reaches income "attributable to you by a business in which you have an ownership interest." Lloyd's of London coverage through Petersen International Underwriters (certificate form PDI111521) lists "Non-passive income reported on Your personal tax return." In our reading, the Principal and Ameritas wording reaches a profit share set by the partnership agreement as well as one set by capital percentage. Contract language varies by state and edition, and the issued policy governs. The contract language library has each specimen form to download.
MassMutual treats passive partnership and S corporation interests as unearned income, and The Standard says passive income may be counted as unearned, so a limited-partner stake in a fund you do not run adds nothing to the earned income behind your benefit at either carrier. Partners, LLC members, and owners of more than 2% of an S corporation also work from individual-pay limits only at Guardian, Principal, Ameritas and The Standard, even when the management company pays the premium.
Does management-company income count differently from fund income?
In practice it often does, because the two streams typically reach a manager with different tax character. Salary, guaranteed payments, and ordinary income from the management company, the entity that typically collects the fund's management fee, generally land on a W-2 or on the ordinary-income and guaranteed-payment lines of a K-1, which is the income these carriers count. Allocations from the fund side can arrive as capital gains, dividends, or interest, and every contract we place lists those among its exclusions or its unearned income. No carrier's current rules name a management fee, a management company, or a general partner entity, so the underwriter reads the return line by line, and a manager paid mostly through the fund side can show less countable income than total pay suggests.
Do performance fees and incentive allocations count as income?
Incentive pay generally counts when it reaches you as ordinary income and generally does not when it arrives as a capital gain, because no rule at Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas or The Standard names performance fees, incentive allocations, or carried interest. An incentive fee paid through the management company as salary, bonus, or ordinary K-1 income sits with the income they count. An incentive allocation taxed as a long-term capital gain falls on the unearned side, and Guardian excludes capital gains from its issue limits for the financial titles it lists.
At claim, Guardian's Provider Choice counts unearned income as income "if the Unearned Income is the result of Your work or personal services," and The Standard excludes investment income and capital gains only "as long as it is not the result of vocational activity you perform." Neither form says whether a performance allocation qualifies, and underwriting at issue still sizes the benefit on earned income, so that wording can only come into play once a claim is open.
Large unearned income can also shrink the benefit. Principal, MassMutual and Ameritas disregard unearned income up to half of earned income and cut the benefit by half of the excess, while neither Guardian nor The Standard prints a comparable offset. Our private equity disability insurance page works that offset through a partner's carried interest and co-investment gains. Tax treatment varies, so confirm how your own pay is reported with a tax professional.
What should an RIA owner add to protect the firm?
An RIA owner who carries payroll and rent should consider overhead expense coverage next to the personal policy, and Ameritas writes it up to $100,000 a month, the highest overhead limit of the carriers we place. The others generally cap overhead coverage at roughly $50,000 to $60,000 a month. Overhead coverage is a separate policy that typically reimburses the firm's fixed costs, such as staff salaries and office rent, while the owner is disabled, and our business overhead expense guide explains how the benefit is sized.
Ownership can also change the owner's personal class, through business-owner routes that sit outside the occupation rows.
| Carrier | Business-owner route above the role's class | Limits for a partner or LLC member |
|---|---|---|
| Its listed financial titles are barred from its business-owner and start-up programs | Individual-pay limits only. Partners cannot use employer-paid limits |
| Business owner row, 6A above $200,000 for the past two years. Whether an RIA owner lands there or on its planner row is the underwriter's call | Individual-pay limits only for partners, LLC members and 2% or larger S corporation owners |
| Business owner program, 5A/5 at $250,000 with 10 or more employees, five years as owner and 20% ownership. Excludes owners working from home | No pass-through rule printed |
| One-class upgrade for owners classed 4A or lower, with 20% ownership for two years and five full-time employees | Individual-pay limits only for partners, larger S corporation owners and most LLCs |
| No business-owner class upgrade on the disability policy. Its business-owner discount excludes financial advisors and planners | Individual-pay limits only. Partners cannot use employer-paid limits |
Ameritas's upgrade fits an adviser still on the 4A step of its advisor row, with three years of experience but not yet five, who has owned at least 20% of a firm with five full-time staff for two years. MassMutual's business owner program also limits time spent on sales to under 20%, which may rule out an owner who spends much of the week bringing in new clients. Principal's business owner row reaches 6A, a class above any finance or planner row it prints, but no printed rule says when it replaces those rows.
Do home-based advisers face extra limits?
A solo adviser working from home can face a longer wait or a shorter benefit period while the firm is young. An owner who spends three-quarters or more of the working week at home gets a wait of no less than 90 days at The Standard, plus a five-year cap on benefits until the business is two years old. Principal starts a newly self-employed adviser working from home at three-quarters of the last W-2, with a $10,000 monthly ceiling and a 90-day minimum wait, and drops those limits once two years pass. MassMutual's business owner program excludes owners working from home altogether.
Can a portfolio manager keep coverage after leaving to launch a fund or RIA?
A portfolio manager can, and a policy issued while still employed moves to the new firm unchanged, while a new application in the launch year is sized from a share of old pay or put off until the firm has a record. Each of the five carriers we place handles the first year differently.
| Carrier | First-year benefit basis | Conditions and records |
|---|---|---|
| Its listed financial titles are barred from its start-up program | Applicants at a company under six months old are generally not eligible. Listed titles need three years of corporate and personal returns |
| 75% of the prior W-2 for the first year, when moving into ownership in the same field | Income from the new firm is verified after a year of operation |
| No printed launch formula | Recommends financial pre-approval for hedge fund managers, weighing start-up stage, ownership and unearned income |
| Generally a year self-employed first, or two years in a similar role before | 12 months in the applied-for class. Two years of financial records for brokers, traders, private equity and venture capital |
| 75% of final annual earnings as an employee, up to $10,000 a month at 5A and 4A | Business started within 12 months, after three years as a non-owner employee in the same capacity earning $50,000 or more |
A manager who applies while still on the payroll is underwritten on two years of employee pay at the class the current role earns, and the policy follows them out the door with its benefit, class and health terms intact. One who applies after resigning is generally held to a fraction of the last W-2 or asked to wait for returns from the new firm, and at Guardian a fund under six months old is generally a reason to wait.
Leaving also ends the employer's group LTD plan. The Standard's Benefit Increase Rider allows an early increase when a group LTD plan ends and is not replaced with similar coverage, though dropping out of a voluntary group plan does not count. A future increase option, where one is bought, can raise the benefit later as the new firm's income is documented, without new medical underwriting. For a founder whose first returns are uneven, the carrier matters, and in our experience Principal reads finances with the most flexibility of the five while Guardian takes the most conservative line, though each case is its own.
How do carriers count a portfolio manager's annual bonus?
A portfolio manager's bonus counts toward the benefit at each of the five carriers, but the history each one wants differs, and Guardian and The Standard set the strictest tests. Guardian counts a bonus only after two years with the same employer, The Standard wants two years of tax returns before it credits a bonus and never projects one forward, and MassMutual credits a single year of bonus at 75%. On a partial claim, Principal's and Ameritas's residual riders spread a bonus or lump sum over the months in which it was earned. The investment banker disability insurance page sets out each carrier's bonus, deferred bonus, and job-change rules and how that allocation clause works at claim.
Is a firm's group LTD plan enough for a portfolio manager?
Generally not for a manager whose bonus or partnership income outruns salary, because group long-term disability plans commonly insure base salary only and typically cap the benefit at $10,000 to $15,000 a month. Of the 546 respondents in the Seaworthy 2026 High Earner AI and Income Protection Survey (n=1,028 employed adults in $100,000-plus households, September 2026) who had employer coverage and earned bonus, commission, RSU, or equity pay, 40% either thought the plan covered that pay or were unsure. Benefits from an employer-paid group plan are also generally taxable, and taxation of benefits varies, so a tax professional should confirm how yours would be treated. The group versus individual disability comparison walks through each gap, and the finance hub covers how group plans treat bonus-heavy pay.
Does a down year in the markets count as a disability loss?
A market-driven down year generally does not count as a disability loss, because each residual rider we quote pays only for income lost because of the sickness or injury itself. A fall in fees or performance pay that would have happened anyway is generally set aside when the carrier measures the loss. How each rider words that causation test, and the look-back each uses to set prior earnings for pay that swings with markets, is laid out on our disability insurance page for quants and traders. The residual disability benefits guide explains the partial benefit itself.
What if a partner's K-1 shows a loss?
A partner whose share of profit is negative across the measured period can lose the partial benefit at one carrier. Ameritas's Cornerstone residual rider states that "If prior monthly earnings are determined to be less than or equal to zero, then no residual benefits will be paid." That bites hardest in the first years of a new fund, when the management company may run at a loss. A total disability claim still pays the stated monthly benefit regardless of income at claim, since the income definitions on this page decide only partial and recovery benefits, plus the 65% cap in the endorsement issued with the Lloyd's residual rider.
Can a portfolio manager get own-occupation and full mental health coverage?
A portfolio manager can generally buy true own-occupation coverage and a full benefit period for mental health claims at the classes on this page, outside the states that require a limit. Guardian, Principal and Ameritas (on its noncancelable Cornerstone policy) offer the full mental health benefit period at these finance classes, MassMutual's built-in 24-month limit can be lifted by an endorsement it sells outside California, and The Standard leaves its two-year limit optional at 5A, 4A, and 3A. In Seaworthy's placed book (2026 audit), about 43% of the exclusions carriers attached were for mental and nervous conditions, so an applicant's treatment history at application can matter as much as the contract wording. Our own-occupation definition guide explains how the definition pays, and the finance disability insurance hub sets each carrier's own-occupation and mental health terms side by side.
How much coverage can a high-earning portfolio manager buy?
Current issue and participation limits put the individual benefit at about $13,300 a month for a portfolio manager earning $300,000 and about $18,000 at $500,000, and group LTD already in force comes out of those totals. One carrier will typically write around $20,000 a month for a high earner. The class ceilings are $35,000 a month at Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas and The Standard and $30,000 at Guardian, so a bigger total means policies from more than one carrier, and for a partner on a K-1 the lower individual-pay column applies throughout.
Above that, MassMutual's Executive Select, open to clients classed 5A or 4A with income of $800,000 or more, can replace up to half of pre-disability income where a group LTD plan sits underneath (about a quarter without one), up to $60,000 a month, though it is not sold in California, Florida or Puerto Rico. On Platinum Advantage, an applicant who is applying for and qualifies for The Standard's class maximum can file a Lloyd's of London application alongside it with no cut to The Standard's benefit. With its residual rider, Lloyd's coverage carries an endorsement that holds total benefits from every source to 65% of earned income and excludes mental and nervous disorders. MassMutual's note that hedge fund benefits may be limited still applies on that row, and the private equity page shows how the layers stack for a partner.
How does Seaworthy compare carriers for portfolio managers?
Seaworthy sends a portfolio manager's file to Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas and The Standard and starts with the row each carrier will use, because a hedge fund placement at one carrier can outweigh any price gap among the rest. We then compare how each reads your K-1 or bonus history, the own-occupation wording, and price. In Seaworthy's placed book (2026 audit), more than 95% of policies include residual coverage and 87% pay to age 65.
Carriers put an exclusion or rating on about 28% of the policies in that book. If an exclusion goes further than a manager's medical file supports, we push back with the underwriter, supply the records that make the case, and shop the file to a carrier likely to read it more favorably. In 15+ years of placing individual coverage, we have often seen carriers revisit an exclusion roughly two years after issue, once the applicant has a clean stretch on record.
We read each carrier rule here from its mid-2026 occupation and underwriting rules and from the specimen policies in our files, and the tables say so wherever a carrier prints nothing. The prices draw on the August 2026 batch of 442 illustrations and roughly 360 October runs, and the Seaworthy research library holds the book audit and survey behind the other figures. Bring your title, a short description of your duties, and two years of returns or K-1s to a side-by-side quote request, and the comparison shows the row each carrier is likely to assign before you apply.