Below are the top 15 reasons why every working American should have paycheck protection in case of becoming disabled:

1. At age 32, the chance of being disabled for 90 days is 6.5 times greater than the chance of death.
2. More than 51 million Americans – 18 percent of the population – are classified as disabled.
3. Almost one-third of Americans entering the workforce today – three out of 10 – will become disabled before they retire.
4. 34,017 fatal crashes occurred in 2008, the lowest rate since 1961. But what about those who survived the carnage? In 2008, 2.35 million people were injured in car accidents. Car crashes are the leading cause of acquired disability in the United States.
5. Seventy-five percent of disabilities are caused by an illness rather than an accident.
6. Seventy percent of American workers in the private sector have no long-term disability protection.
7. A Harvard University report reveals that 62 percent of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007 were due to the inability to pay for medical expenses.
8. The likelihood of being disabled for more than three months is greater than dying in any given year.
9. Accident or illness will force 1 in 5 U.S. employees to miss work for at least a year before they turn 65. Furthermore, the average long-term disability absence lasts 2 years.
10. In the past hour, almost 3,000 Americans became disabled. That’s 49 disabilities every minute.
11. Every year, 350,000 personal bankruptcies are attributed to injuries and unexpected illnesses.
12. In the first year following paraplegia, living expenses average $259,531 per person.
13. Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. From 1995 to 2005, the stroke death rate fell 29.7 percent and the actual number of stroke deaths declined 13.5 percent.
14. Only a small fraction – 10 percent – of disabling accidents and illnesses are work related. The other 90 percent are not, which means workers’ compensation doesn’t cover them.
15. The average monthly benefit paid by Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is $1,004 a month.