This is a significant increase over the 65% of companies who reported requiring a waiting period of 7 days or more in BLR's Survey of Employee Benefits in late 2006.

In the most recent survey, most (64%) companies reported that they pay a short-term disability benefit of 60-69% of weekly pay for 13 weeks or less, funded primarily by conventional insurance.

The trend toward longer waiting periods was also found for long-term disability insurance, with 94% of respondents requiring a delay of 3 months or more, compared with 80% of respondents in the 2006 survey.

The survey, which included over 400 responses, was conducted by BLR's HR Daily Advisor in March-April 2010.

For detailed survey results, see 2010 Fringe Benefit Survey Series - Disability and Group Insurance Practices.