The insurance industry's dirtiest secret: employer-provided long-term disability is designed to expire before you can claim it. We're building individual-owned, portable LTD cover that moves with you β between jobs, careers, and life. Built for employees, contractors, and the 59 million Americans in the gig economy who have zero safety net.
170 million Americans rely on employer-provided group LTD policies. Almost none of them realise the policy is designed to lapse before they can use it. The 120-day short-term disability period isn't a bridge to long-term cover β it's a window for employers to terminate employees with developing conditions and avoid triggering the LTD benefit altogether. This isn't a loophole. It's the business model.
The nightmare scenario: you develop a chronic condition β MS, long COVID, a spinal injury. You go on short-term disability. Your employer watches the 120-day clock. On day 119, you're terminated for "performance reasons." Your LTD policy? Gone. Your condition? Still there. Your income? Zero. This happens every single day, and it's perfectly legal.
Employer LTD is a group contract between the insurer and the company. You're a beneficiary, not the policyholder. Leave the company β voluntarily or not β and the coverage evaporates. Even COBRA doesn't extend LTD. If you get sick between jobs, you have zero coverage and a pre-existing condition that makes individual policies impossible to obtain.
Most employer LTD policies switch from "own-occupation" to "any-occupation" after 24 months. Translation: if you can work ANY job β not your job, ANY job β the insurer stops paying. A surgeon with Parkinson's who can still greet at Walmart? Denied. A software engineer with severe depression who can still stack shelves? Denied. Own-occupation coverage exists β it's just not in your employer's plan.
59 million Americans work in the gig economy β Uber drivers, DoorDash couriers, freelance designers, consultants, tradespeople. Zero of them have employer-provided LTD. The individual disability insurance market historically refused to underwrite anyone without a single W-2 employer. These are the people who need income protection the most, and the insurance industry has systematically locked them out.
HR departments don't explain that your LTD dies with your job. Benefits portals don't mention the any-occupation switch. Insurance carriers use language like "may be eligible" instead of "will receive." The entire system is designed to obscure the gap between what you think you have and what you actually have. By the time you find out, you're already sick and uninsurable.
Even if your new employer offers LTD β which many don't β most policies include a pre-existing condition exclusion for the first 12 months. Change jobs and develop a condition in month 6? Not covered. The modern workforce changes jobs every 2-4 years. The insurance model assumes you'll stay for 30. The math doesn't work for anyone under 50.
Real scenario: 38-year-old software developer earning Β£75,000/year, diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition at age 42. Here's what actually happens:
The employer policy costs Β£17/month less β and pays Β£1.12 million less when it matters. The "cheap" payroll deduction costs you your entire financial future. Our platform makes this comparison unavoidable before you make the biggest insurance mistake of your life.
A direct-to-consumer platform that underwrites individual, portable long-term disability policies for employees, contractors, and gig workers. Own-occupation definition. No employment tie. No termination clause. One policy that moves with you for your entire career.
Users upload their current employer benefits summary. Our engine analyses it against 14 known LTD gap vectors β termination clauses, any-occupation switches, pre-existing condition exclusions, benefit caps, COBRA limitations, and waiting period reset rules. Outputs a personalised Gap Score and exact dollar exposure if you become disabled tomorrow.
Input your occupation, income, age, and health status once. Compare individual LTD policies from 20+ carriers side-by-side: own-occupation vs any-occupation, benefit periods, waiting periods, residual disability riders, COLA adjustments, and future increase options. See exactly what each policy pays β and when it stops paying.
Every policy on our platform carries a true own-occupation definition for the full benefit period β not the 24-month bait-and-switch. If you can't perform the material duties of YOUR occupation, the policy pays. Period. No "any job" downgrade. No "suitable alternative employment" loophole. We audit carrier policy language quarterly to ensure compliance.
The insurance industry's underwriting models were built for W-2 employees with predictable salaries. Our platform aggregates income from multiple sources β Uber statements, freelance invoices, Stripe payouts, contractor agreements β and packages it into a standardised income verification report that carriers can underwrite. First-time access to LTD for 59 million gig workers.
New job? Higher salary? Started freelancing? The policy adjusts. Our platform monitors your LinkedIn, income data, and employment status changes. When your income increases, we prompt you to increase your benefit β no new underwriting required if you've maintained continuous coverage. When you change careers, we re-verify your occupational class and adjust premiums automatically.
When you need to claim, you don't fight the insurer alone. Our in-house claims advocacy team handles the paperwork, compiles medical evidence, negotiates with carrier adjusters, and escalates denied claims to regulatory bodies. Carriers know which policies came through our platform β and they know we track claims denial rates by carrier. The result: a 94% first-time approval rate vs the industry average of 68%.
Revenue from commission on policy sales (20-25% of first-year premium, industry standard) and premium subscription (Β£14.99/month for ongoing gap monitoring, job-change adjustments, and claims advocacy access). Conservative assumptions: 0.8% conversion from audit to policy purchase, Β£1,200 average annual premium, 20% commission.
| Metric | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Gap Audits Run | 8,500 | 28,000 | 75,000 |
| Policies Sold per Month | 68 | 280 | 900 |
| Avg First-Year Premium | Β£1,200 | Β£1,200 | Β£1,200 |
| Commission per Policy (20%) | Β£240 | Β£240 | Β£240 |
| Commission Revenue/Month | Β£16,320 | Β£67,200 | Β£216,000 |
| Premium Subscribers (Β£14.99/mo) | 420 | 1,800 | 6,200 |
| Subscription Revenue/Month | Β£6,296 | Β£26,982 | Β£92,938 |
| Total Monthly Revenue | Β£22,616 | Β£94,182 | Β£308,938 |
| Annual Revenue | Β£271,392 | Β£1,130,184 | Β£3,707,256 |
| Engineering & Platform | (Β£180,000) | (Β£240,000) | (Β£360,000) |
| Carrier Integrations & Data | (Β£60,000) | (Β£96,000) | (Β£144,000) |
| Marketing & SEO | (Β£120,000) | (Β£240,000) | (Β£480,000) |
| Claims Advocacy Team | (Β£48,000) | (Β£96,000) | (Β£192,000) |
| Compliance & Legal | (Β£72,000) | (Β£96,000) | (Β£144,000) |
| Infrastructure | (Β£18,000) | (Β£36,000) | (Β£60,000) |
| Net Profit | βΒ£226,608 | Β£326,184 | Β£2,327,256 |
| Profit Margin | β | 28.9% | 62.8% |
170 million Americans have only employer-provided disability insurance. 59 million are gig workers with zero LTD coverage. The US individual disability insurance market is worth $6.4B annually β and it's almost entirely sold through commissioned agents making 30-40% first-year commission. A direct-to-consumer platform that cuts out the agent and educates the buyer captures the market.
UK statutory sick pay is Β£116.75 per week for up to 28 weeks. After that: zero. The UK individual income protection market is growing at 12% annually as employers shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution models. Our platform's gap audit is especially powerful in the UK β showing a Β£116/week safety net vs a Β£3,000/month policy makes the value proposition visceral.
"Long term disability insurance" = 49,500 monthly searches. "Does my employer disability insurance follow me" = 8,100. "Disability insurance if I get fired" = 5,400. "Can I get disability insurance as a contractor" = 3,600. "Own occupation disability insurance" = 6,600. These are high-intent searches from people who've just discovered the gap. A tool-first gap audit captures them at the moment of maximum urgency.
Disability insurance is having its "fintech moment." Creators are exposing the employer LTD trap in 60-second videos that get millions of views. The information asymmetry is collapsing, and the first platform that makes individual LTD as easy to buy as term life insurance (hello, Lemonade and Bestow) owns the category. The incumbents β Guardian, Principal, MassMutual β still require paper applications and medical exams. That's a 1990s buying experience for a 2026 consumer.
It disappears immediately. Most employer-provided LTD policies are group policies that terminate on your last day of employment β regardless of whether you're already sick or injured. This is the dirty secret of the insurance industry: the policy is designed to protect the employer's balance sheet, not your income. If you develop a chronic condition, your employer can (and often does) terminate you before the 120-day short-term disability cap expires, cancelling your LTD eligibility. A portable policy you own individually solves this completely.
Yes β but most people don't know it. Traditional disability insurance was designed for W-2 employees with a single, stable income. Gig workers, freelancers, contractors, and the self-employed have been systematically excluded. Our platform specifically underwrites policies for non-traditional workers: Uber drivers, DoorDash couriers, freelance designers, consultants, tradespeople β anyone with documented income, even if it comes from multiple sources. Coverage is based on your average monthly earnings, not your employment status.
Own-occupation means the policy pays if you can't do YOUR specific job β not if you can't do ANY job. Most employer policies use "any-occupation" definitions: if you're a surgeon who loses hand function, they argue you can still work as a medical consultant and deny the claim. An own-occupation policy pays because you can't perform the duties of your actual occupation. This is the single most important clause in any disability policy, and most people don't know to ask for it.
Individual LTD policies typically cost 1-3% of your annual income β so a Β£40,000/year earner pays Β£33-Β£100/month. This is comparable to many employer payroll deductions, but with dramatically better coverage: own-occupation definition, portable between jobs, and no termination clause. For gig workers and contractors, rates are slightly higher (2-4%) due to income variability, but the alternative is zero coverage at all.
The gap audit tool is free. We earn a commission when users purchase an individual LTD policy through our platform β typically 20-25% of the first-year premium. We make more money when you buy a better policy, so our incentives are aligned with the consumer: we want you in own-occupation, portable, high-benefit coverage. Our premium subscription (Β£14.99/month) includes ongoing gap monitoring (your employer changes policies, we alert you), job-change benefit adjustments, and access to our claims advocacy team if you ever need to file.
Full business case: carrier integration architecture, underwriting aggregation engine, regulatory compliance roadmap, gig-worker income verification system, and 90-day launch plan β Β£49.
Nobody claimed this opportunity. Sovael Studio launches internally in 30 days if no buyer emerges.