Back to Health, Work, and Life: CDIA’s 2025 Fall Campaign

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Back to Health. Work. Life. The CDIA's Fall Open Enrollment Campaign.

As we launch our 2025 Fall Campaign, our theme highlights something fundamental about human nature: when faced with serious illness or injury, many people find that the ability to keep working—or to return to work—becomes an essential part of recovery. Work is more than income; it offers structure, purpose, and connection. For those navigating disability, these anchors can be as critical as medical care itself.

Over the last few years, society has gained a deeper appreciation for the value of work, especially when challenges strike. Work is not only about a paycheck. It provides structure, social contact, identity, and a sense of purpose. When illness or injury interrupts this, the ability to continue working, or to return to work after recovery, often plays a central role in healing. Much of our self-worth is tied to employment and our place in a community. While family may come first, research shows that work is a powerful driver of recovery.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that continuing to work during or after a disability can positively impact recovery in several ways:

Employment stability: Maintaining a job provides financial security, purpose, and a support network that reduces isolation.
Social integration: Work fosters daily interaction, contributing to connection and personal growth.
Mental health: Employment can help manage mental health challenges during recovery.
Self-confidence: Remaining in the workforce strengthens self-esteem and combats feelings of shame or inadequacy.

I’ve seen this firsthand. Over the past few years, friends, family, and acquaintances have faced health crises. After the initial shock, nearly all of them either worked through recovery or returned as quickly as possible. At first, I questioned their urgency. Why push so hard to get back? But I’ve come to understand it. As someone who has “retired” but continues to stay engaged, I know the need to contribute to a mission and to feel like an essential part of something larger.

That’s the spirit behind this Fall Campaign. We want to highlight the role of employers and coworkers in supporting those who return to work after disability. They don’t want sympathy—they want respect, belonging, and the opportunity to be part of the team. By understanding their needs and helping them reintegrate, you’re not just welcoming them back to work. You’re actively supporting their recovery.

Bob Herum

Bob Herum, MSFS, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, DIA, DIF, LTCP CDIA President. Bob has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and has demonstrated success as a producer, a wholesaler and as a manager. Bob has been published in such magazines as The American College’s Wealth Magazine, National Underwriter, Life Insurance Selling, Broker’s World, NAIFA’s Advisor Today and Health Insurance Underwriters (HIU). Additionally, he has spoken at national, regional and state forums on a variety of disability and worksite sales topics and is a recipient of the W. Harold Peterson Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Disability Income Society (IDIS). Bob retired as a Colonel from the Army Reserves. He is a past President of the Columbus, Ohio NAIFA chapter, a two-time past President with the International Disability Society, past-chair of the NAHU’s Disability Insurance Advisory Group, and past-President for the Cincinnati Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP). Bob is married to Teri and has one son, Nick.