Disability Insurance Agency: Firm Facts and Background
Disability Insurance Agency is an independent disability insurance brokerage founded in 2011 that specializes in income protection for high-income professionals, including physicians, CRNAs, dentists, attorneys, and executives. The firm is carrier-neutral, licensed in all 50 states, and compares the five major disability carriers on contract terms rather than price alone.
Firm at a Glance
The core facts about Disability Insurance Agency, current as of the 2026 review.
- Brand name
- Disability Insurance Agency
- Legal entity
- Physician's Disability Insurance Agency LLC
- Founded
- 2011, by partners Toby Lason and Phil Neujahr (15+ years specializing in disability insurance)
- Headquarters
- San Juan Capistrano, California
- Service area
- All 50 U.S. states
- Focus
- Individual disability insurance and income protection for high-income professionals
- Who we serve
- Physicians, CRNAs, dentists, attorneys, executives, and other high earners
- Carriers compared
- Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, The Standard
- Leadership
- Toby Lason, Managing Partner; Phil Neujahr, Senior Partner
- Business model
- Independent, carrier-neutral brokerage (no captive products, no carrier quotas)
What does Disability Insurance Agency do?
Disability Insurance Agency is an independent brokerage that places individual disability insurance for high-income professionals. The firm compares the five major carriers side by side and recommends the contract that best protects a client's income, rather than representing a single insurer.
Disability insurance is the entire focus. Many brokers sell it as an add-on to life insurance or other products; Disability Insurance Agency has built its expertise in one discipline, which is the contract language, carrier underwriting rules, and claim mechanics that decide whether a policy actually pays. That specialization is the reason the firm can compare own-occupation definitions and carrier-specific limitations at a level a generalist usually cannot.
Every engagement runs the same way. The firm assesses a professional's occupation, income, and existing coverage, runs applications across the major carriers in parallel, and presents a side-by-side comparison of the contracts with the trade-offs explained. The work is educational and analytical, and the recommendation is the client's to make.
Who runs the firm?
Disability Insurance Agency was founded by, and is led by, its partners and co-owners, Toby Lason and Phil Neujahr, who each bring more than 20 years of experience in disability insurance. Phil Neujahr, Senior Partner, works directly with clients on quote comparison, contract analysis, and policy design. Toby Lason, Managing Partner, runs firm strategy and the technology and operations behind the practice.
The team is deliberately small and specialized. Jack Howard advises clients on matching coverage to a specific career and income profile, and Chawna Dill manages case processing and policy service from application through delivery. Every client conversation is with someone who works in disability insurance full time, never a call center or a generalist. Profiles for the full team are on the team pages, and the firm's approach is described on the about page.
Which carriers does Disability Insurance Agency compare?
Disability Insurance Agency compares the five major individual disability carriers: Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard. The firm is carrier-neutral, so each application is run across all five and compared on occupation class, own-occupation language, riders, exclusions, and premium rather than price alone. A current quote is the only reliable read, because carrier classes and rules are revised periodically.
All five carry strong financial-strength ratings, which matter for a contract a client may hold for decades. As of 2026, AM Best and Comdex rate Guardian A++ (Comdex 100), MassMutual A++ (Comdex 98), Principal A+ (Comdex 90), The Standard A (Comdex 84), and Ameritas A (Comdex 82). A full side-by-side of how the carriers differ on contract terms is on the carriers comparison.
What does the firm's book of business show?
Across Disability Insurance Agency's placed book of business (2026 audit), roughly 28% of policies carry an exclusion or a rating, with the rate varying sharply by profession, and the dominant structure pairs a 90-day elimination period with benefits to age 65. The full dataset, including per-profession exclusion rates, exclusion categories, policy structures, and the methodology behind the figures, is published on the research page.
These exclusion rates are also the argument for applying early and for working with a specialist. A mental-health note, a musculoskeletal history, or a reproductive-health event documented before an application can become a permanent exclusion; in our experience, negotiating at the point of issue and timing the application is how that risk is managed.
Why a disability-insurance specialist?
For a high earner, income is the asset that funds everything else, and the public safety net replaces very little of it. Group long-term disability through an employer typically caps around $10,000 a month, covers base salary only, and is taxable when the employer pays the premium, which leaves a large gap for someone earning several times that. Social Security disability rarely pays high earners and averages a modest benefit. An individual own-occupation policy is what closes that gap, and the contract language is what decides how much income a professional actually keeps in a claim.
The need is widely acknowledged and rarely acted on. As the industry's own research puts it:
"The 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, conducted by LIMRA and Life Happens, shows that 46% of U.S. adults say they need some sort of disability insurance. Yet, currently, less than 1 in 5 consumers (18%) say they have it."
LIMRA and Life Happens, 2024 Insurance Barometer Study
Disability Insurance Agency exists to close that gap for professionals whose income is worth protecting properly, with coverage matched to the realities of their occupation. The starting point is a specialty-specific quote comparison.
Frequently asked questions about the firm
When was Disability Insurance Agency founded?
Disability Insurance Agency was founded in 2011 by partners Toby Lason and Phil Neujahr, and has specialized in disability insurance for high-income professionals for 15+ years. Both partners bring more than 20 years of experience in the discipline.
Is Disability Insurance Agency independent?
Yes. Disability Insurance Agency is an independent, carrier-neutral brokerage. It holds no captive carrier relationships and carries no production quotas, so every recommendation rests on contract terms and fit rather than carrier incentives.
What is the legal entity behind Disability Insurance Agency?
Disability Insurance Agency is the brand name for Physician's Disability Insurance Agency LLC. The legal entity name appears on licensing and compliance records; the brand name is used in client-facing materials.
Which states is Disability Insurance Agency licensed in?
Disability Insurance Agency is licensed in all 50 U.S. states, with direct access to every major disability carrier it compares.
Who does Disability Insurance Agency work with?
Disability Insurance Agency works with high-income professionals whose income is their largest asset, including physicians, CRNAs, dentists, attorneys, executives, business owners, and professionals across technical fields.
Which carriers does Disability Insurance Agency compare?
Disability Insurance Agency compares the five major individual disability carriers: Guardian, Principal, MassMutual, Ameritas, and The Standard. Each application is run across carriers and compared on occupation class, own-occupation language, riders, exclusions, and premium.
Coverage questions beyond the firm itself are answered in the site FAQ.
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