Short term disability insurance in Canada

How short-term disability insurance works

Short-term disability pays a portion of your income — often 60 to 70 percent — after a short waiting period, typically within a week or two of becoming disabled. Benefits run for a limited window, commonly 17 to 26 weeks, while you recover from an illness, injury, surgery, or (on many plans) a maternity leave. It's frequently delivered through an employer group plan rather than bought individually.

How long short-term disability pays

The benefit period for short-term coverage is short by design — usually a few weeks up to about six months. After that, a prolonged or permanent disability is meant to be covered by long-term disability insurance, which can pay for years or to age 65.

Group vs individual short-term coverage

Most short-term disability in Canada comes through employer group plans. Individual short-term policies exist but are less common, partly because a healthy emergency fund can often cover the same gap. If you're self-employed or have no group plan, it usually makes more sense to focus on long-term protection first and self-insure the short-term window — see our self-employed disability guide.

How short-term and long-term fit together

The two products are complementary. A common, cost-efficient setup uses short-term coverage (or savings) to carry the first 90 days, then a long-term policy with a 90-day waiting period takes over for the long haul. Pairing them this way avoids paying twice for the same period. For the full picture of how income replacement works, start with the disability insurance guide.