Disability insurance
Protect your income—the fuel for your financial goals
Disability insurance calculator
Calculate your disability insurance needs based on your income and real expenses.
The value of disability insurance
Disability insurance offers a solid base to any financial strategy. Accidents, illnesses, and injuries can happen to anyone, but with disability insurance, you can rest easy knowing your lifestyle and future goals are protected.
North Star can help you prepare for the unexpected.
Our financial professionals and specialists will help you find the appropriate policy based on your income and needs, so you have everything you need to guard against the unexpected.
1 in 5 Americans today live with a disability
Source: “Disability Impacts All of Us.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020.
Contact the disability insurance team
What we offer
Individuals
Disability insurance provides you with a percentage of your income if an illness or injury prevents you from working and earning a living. The payouts from your policy can help you cover rent, mortgage, recurring bills, and with some policies, retirement contributions.
Types of insurance
Short-term
Short-term disability insurance replaces a portion of your income during the initial weeks of a disabling illness or accident.
Long-term
Long-term disability insurance replaces a portion of your income during an extended period of a disabling illness or accident.
In many cases, your occupation and income affect your disability insurance needs. Many North Star financial professionals specialize in providing solutions customized to individuals working in a specific field. Learn more about our services for these individuals:
Business owners
As a business owner, you have multiple considerations when examining your disability insurance needs and may require additional coverage alongside their individual policy.
Types of insurance
Business loan protection
Often, your banking institution or lender will require that you have disability insurance to prevent you from defaulting on future loan payments in the event of a disability or illness. Business Loan Protection will pick up your payments where you left off or if you never recover.
Business overhead expense repayment
Business overhead expense repayment (BOE) can help cover your lease, employee salaries, insurance premiums, and other overhead expenses if you become disabled. If necessary, BOE can allow you time to develop a proper exit strategy while other aspects of your business are operating as normal.
Buy/sell agreement funding
A buy/sell agreement between partners identifies what happens to an owner’s share of the business if departure is unavoidable. Among other topics covered in this agreement, guidelines on disability are established. Disability insurance can provide a funding mechanism to pay for buy-out without causing owners to use personal cash or dip into the business’s cash-flow.
North Star offers comprehensive financial solutions for business owners so you can find overlap and blind spots without dozens of meetings with different specialists. We will evaluate your business, coordinate our specialists, and customize a roadmap for you.
Employers
Employers of all company sizes have innumerable options when deciding which benefits to offer employees. Quality benefits lead to higher morale, company loyalty and all-around employee satisfaction. Several options are outlined below that North Star can help guide you on:
Types of insurance
Group long-term disability insurance
Available for as few as two employees, this particular benefit can be designed in a way to both maximize efficiency while keeping costs down for the employer.
Executive benefits
This plan allows you to “carve out” your key employees or executives that you wish to offer unique benefits to, namely disability insurance. Premiums for this are marginal and can be deducted by the company, yet benefits paid in the event of a disability will be far larger than if you instead paid them the premium amount in cash bonuses.
Guaranteed issue coverage
One of the biggest obstacles in applying for individually owned disability insurance is qualifying based on health. As an employer, you can offer individually owned disability insurance with no medical history reviews or exams and no exclusions.
Key-person replacement
Key-person disability insurance is designed to compensate the employer when a disability happens to an employee with high productivity and ability to drive revenue growth. Typically, this pays in a lump-sum that can be used for whatever is necessary to offset the costs of losing the key person.
Your choice of carriers
To put your needs first, North Star Resource Group has remained an independent firm, ensuring our financial professionals can make customized recommendations and offer products from a variety of carriers.
Our disability insurance team
Doua Moua
Disability Insurance Specialist
Doua Moua
Disability Insurance SpecialistDoua Moua is not affiliated or registered with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. Any information provided by Doua is no way related to Cetera Advisor Networks LLC or its registered representatives.
Chase Brakke, DIA, DIF, CEPA®
Vice President of Business Owner Solutions
Chase Brakke, DIA, DIF, CEPA®
Vice President of Business Owner SolutionsChase leads our disability insurance, property and casualty insurance, and employee benefits divisions, ensuring clients have a customized protection strategy for their specific individual, family, and business needs.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Chase joined North Star as a financial advisor in 2008. In 2011, he transitioned to becoming North Star’s national disability insurance consultant and expanding the division and its services nationwide.
Then, in 2019, he became the vice president of disability insurance and property and casualty. Under his leadership, the two divisions have grown and developed to serve clients throughout the U.S. with valuable asset and income protection solutions.
As a former financial advisor, Chase understands how to integrate risk management into an overall financial strategy. Now serving as Vice President of Business Owner Solutions, much of his time is spent working directly with advisors and their clients by bringing in the expertise he oversees in North Star’s Disability Insurance, Property and Casualty, and Employee Benefits teams.
Chase is heavily involved in his community as a board member for BestPrep, a non-profit providing Minnesota students with financial literacy skills. Each year, Chase volunteers over 100 hours with the organization as an eMentor, classroom speaker, and fundraiser organizer. He received BestPrep’s Service Award in 2015 and, reflecting his dedication to volunteering with organizations like BestPrep, was named an honorable mention for the Volunteer of the Year award from Invest In Others in 2024.
Chase lives in Stillwater, Minn., with his beautiful wife, Jenn, and two children.
Registered administrative assistant of Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.
2024 BestPrep Service Award. Issued to the top volunteers in the BestPrep volunteer programs for those that go above and beyond in their commitment to the students and teachers of Minnesota. Listing in this publication and/or award is not a guarantee of future investment success. This recognition should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client. No compensation was provided directly or indirectly by the recipient for participation or in connection with obtaining or using the third-party rating or award.
2024 Volunteer of the Year Award Honorable Mention Issued by Invest in Others. Nominees must be currently working as registered representatives, registered investment advisors, or financial advisors with a professional designation. Nominees must be active financial advisors, defined by spending at least 75% of their time providing financial consultation with clients. Nominees must have worked in this capacity for at least three years. Volunteer involvement with the nonprofit organization must be current and ongoing for at least three years. Nominations are evaluated based on an advisor’s leadership, dedication, contribution, inspiration and impact on a nonprofit and the community it serves. Three finalists are selected in each of the six categories with one winner being chosen for each award. Award finalists and winners receive generous donations from Invest in Others to their designated charities. Listing in this publication and/or award is not a guarantee of future investment success. This recognition should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor by any client. No compensation was provided directly or indirectly by the recipient for participation or in connection with obtaining or using the third-party rating or award.
The charitable entities and/or fundraising opportunities described herein are not endorsed by or affiliated with (BD name) or its affiliates. Our philanthropic interests are personal to us and are not reviewed, sponsored or approved by Cetera.
Max Miller
Disability Insurance Consultant
Max Miller
Disability Insurance ConsultantSince joining North Star in 2016, Max has been using his expansive knowledge and commitment as a disability expert to provide counsel to our associates. Today, he is available to speak with clients about their disability insurance needs and options.
Serving individuals nationwide, Max is committed to ensuring each client has a customized protection strategy for their specific needs.
Matt Vasos
Disability Insurance Specialist
Matt Vasos
Disability Insurance SpecialistMatt is a disability insurance specialist working out of our Minneapolis headquarters. Using his professional background with North Star, he supports the Disability Insurance department as they provide excellent insurance solutions to clients nationwide.
Matt began his career with North Star as an intern in 2019, where he learned the basics of the financial advising career path. Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2020 with a degree in business marketing and a minor in management, he pivoted to his current role at North Star. Here, he helps the Disability Insurance department provide comprehensive disability insurance solutions while training others on how these solutions can contribute to a financial plan.
Matt grew up in Bloomington, MN, as the son of North Star President and Chief Financial Officer, David Vasos, CFP®. Matt continues to live in Bloomington today, alongside his wife, Carly, and golden retriever. In his free time, he loves playing golf, watching Minnesota sports teams, brewery hopping, and finding new places to explore with his dog. He also maintains close ties to his alma mater and is an avid fan of the Golden Gophers sports teams.