Demario, age 29, has started his own professional practice.

For a young self-employed professional, the dominant exposure is interruption of earned income. Disability insurance protects human capital by replacing income if illness or injury prevents the client from working. Because Demario is self-employed, he may not have employer long-term disability benefits, paid sick leave, or group coverage. Option B is irrelevant because joint last-to-die coverage is built for two lives and estate liquidity after the second death. Option C is narrow and does not protect ongoing income. Option D may be useful in some estate plans, but estate equalization is not the priority for a single client whose key asset is earning ability. The planner should review own-occupation wording, elimination period, benefit period, inflation indexing, residual disability benefits, integration with emergency savings, and business overhead coverage if practice expenses must continue. The correct planning lens is income protection before estate accumulation. References/topics: disability insurance, human capital, self-employed clients, income replacement.

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