Anticipating you might be fully disabled in 10 years is a completely different scenario than being so in the near future.

My perspective is that I've met enough people that have to depend on family, government entitlements, or face homelessness, that I'm very conservative about explaining what people may face. It's not unusual whatsoever. I've known people that have taken 30k Work Comp Settlemnents, including future medical, and gone and spent most of it on a new car and then found they were unemployable.

It's also not uncommon for it to take YEARS to get SSDI approval. Even after that approval, you might be unable to afford a mortgage on a home in the price range you're describing.

People don't think it will take 3 or 5 or 8 years to receive SSDI approval. And your first post seemed to assume that the process wouldn't be difficult.

SSDI is not income replacement. You're correct that is why you needed a separate disability policy. It will be enough to afford to get by in most parts of the country. Many are forced to move or buy a smaller home, etc.

Your idea about picking up disability insurance seems incredibly unlikely, and possibly fraudulent.

These are hard truths.

I don't mean to be insulting or intrusive, but the realities of permanent disability are very different than healthy people assume.

Best of luck to you!