Disability insurance has been an industry staple for decades. In recent years however, disability insurance has been stagnant after industry losses drove out many providers. With the advent of new product concepts, today sales are on the rise, driven by more-affordable policies, as well as a growing number of employers making disability insurance available for workers to purchase at a discount.

Similar to “consumer driven” health insurance, a simpler and cheaper type of disability policy called “guaranteed renewable” is becoming increasingly popular. According to Limra International, an industry research group, sales of new policies increased 8 percent last year, according to Limra International, an insurance-industry research group.

Guaranteed renewable coverage provides less of a safety net than older-style “non-cancelable” policies that lock in premiums for the life of the policy. The rates on guaranteed-renewable insurance can go up each year; despite that face it is substantially cheaper than non-cancelable coverage.

Prices and benefits range widely according to age, the amount of income being replaced and a host of other variables. The average monthly benefit for non-cancelable individual disability insurance is $4,242, for an average annual premium of $1,684, among companies reporting to Limra. The average monthly benefit for guaranteed renewable is $1,479, for an annual premium of $523.

Fewer employers are paying for group coverage in their employee-benefit packages, in a bid to cut labor costs. But the newer products are allowing employers to return to disability insurance as a benefit offering. Recent converts such as Staples Inc. are finding that guaranteed renewable policies can be provided at a reasonable rate, and still cost the employee at least 20% less than privately acquired disability coverage would cost.