Short-term disability insurance replaces a portion of your paycheck if an illness, injury, or condition — including pregnancy and childbirth — temporarily keeps you from working, bridging the gap between a paycheck and no income at all during recovery. * Coverage amounts vary by plan, but most short-term disability policies replace somewhere between 40% and 70% of your normal income, not the full amount — the specific percentage depends on the terms of your particular plan, whether through your employer or purchased individually. * There's a waiting period before benefits actually start, called an elimination period, typically running anywhere from about one week to 30 days, averaging around two weeks. You don't receive payments during this window even if you're already unable to work — it functions similarly to a deductible, except measured in time rather than dollars. * Once benefits kick in, they generally continue for 13 to 26 weeks, or until you return to work, whichever comes first. That coverage window is specifically why it's called "short-term" — it's designed to bridge a temporary absence, not a permanent or long-lasting one, which is where long-term disability coverage would take over instead. * Most people who have short-term disability coverage get it through their employer as part of a group benefits package, often at a lower cost than buying an individual policy directly. Qualifying conditions are broader than people expect too — beyond obvious injuries, coverage commonly extends to surgery recovery, serious illness, and mental health conditions like depression or anxiety that a doctor certifies as preventing you from working.