Disability insurance for Hanford PD officers: what the MOU actually says
The City does not provide a disability policy: under MOU section 2.08, you need your own, paid by you, to use disability leave. On-duty injuries go first to workers' compensation and CalPERS industrial disability retirement, so the gap your own policy fills is an injury or illness off duty.
At a glance
- No City-paid disability policy. Disability leave requires proof of your own.
- On duty: workers' compensation and CalPERS industrial disability retirement come first.
- Off duty: that is the gap. A broken back from a weekend fall is not a work injury.
- Look for an own-occupation definition, off-duty coverage and a policy you can keep.
Who this is for: A Hanford PD officer who assumes the department covers any injury, and a spouse who wants to know what the household would live on.
Reviewed by Theron Morgan, CEO and founder, Avidity Capital Inc., a registered investment adviser, on 2026-10-07.
What MOU section 2.08 says, in plain words
The City does not buy disability insurance for you. To use disability leave under the MOU, you have to show proof that you carry your own disability insurance and that you pay for it.
So the policy is not optional if you ever want that leave, and it is the only thing replacing your paycheck in most off-duty cases.
If you are hurt on duty
A job injury goes first to workers' compensation, which pays medical care and replaces part of your pay. California law also gives sworn officers injured on duty a period of salary continuation. If the injury ends your career, CalPERS industrial disability retirement is a pension for safety members disabled by the job.
Those benefits have their own rules, offsets and paperwork. A private policy may pay on top of them or be reduced by them; read how yours handles it.
If you are hurt or sick off duty
A weekend injury, a cancer diagnosis or a heart problem away from work is not a job injury. Workers' compensation does not apply, and industrial disability retirement does not either. CalPERS has a nonindustrial disability retirement, but it requires a minimum of service and pays less.
Check your pay stub for an SDI or CASDI line. If there is none, you are not covered by California State Disability Insurance on this job, and your own policy is all there is.
What to look for in a policy
Own occupation: the policy pays if you cannot work as a police officer, not only if you cannot work at all. Elimination period: how long you wait before it pays; match it to your sick leave and savings. Benefit period: how long it pays. Offsets: whether it is reduced by workers' compensation or CalPERS benefits. Portability: whether you keep it if you leave the City.
Many officers get coverage through an association or a private carrier. Avidity Capital does not sell insurance and receives no commission or referral fee on any policy. An Avidity adviser can read a quote with you before you sign.
Questions people ask
Does the City give me disability insurance?
No. Under MOU section 2.08 you need your own disability insurance, paid by you, to use disability leave.
Doesn't workers' comp cover me?
For injuries on the job, yes. For an injury or illness off duty, no. That is the gap a private policy fills.
What is own-occupation coverage?
A policy that pays if you cannot do your own job, police work, even if you could do some other job. Without it, a policy may stop paying once you can work anywhere.
Who should I buy from?
This page names no carriers or products. Compare quotes from an association plan and a private carrier on the points above.
Next step
See your own numbers first. The free reality-check needs no account and no card.
This page is education, not individualized investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. It names no products, funds or allocations and carries no client stories. Where a document or a policy is needed, an estate attorney or a licensed insurance agent is the person who prepares it. Avidity Capital Inc. drafts no legal documents and receives no commission or referral fee from insurance, estate attorneys, mortgage lenders or real estate agents. Its compensation is the member's subscription and, for members who choose it, an advisory fee for managing assets; see Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A. Avidity Capital Inc. is a registered investment adviser.