Each year, thousands of adults opt to purchase long-term disability insurance. Many people benefit from this insurance each year. Disability coverage can be an important aspect of keeping yourself protected in the event that you become impaired with a disability. A private long-term disability lawyer can help you fight the insurance company if you’ve been wrongfully denied benefits under an LTD policy.
There are many types of disability coverage, but one of the most common types is private long-term disability coverage. This is sometimes called individual long-term disability coverage. This insurance is separate from employer provided insurance LTD insurance. If you have employer provided LTD insurance, you like have an ERISA LTD policy. While some choose to opt into employer-sponsored plans, many others opt for private disability insurance.
What is private long-term disability insurance?
Long-term disability coverage benefits those who are unable to work for a long period of time due to a disability. It will provide financial benefits based on a percentage of the recipient’s policy for at least one year, if not more, depending upon the type of policy a person selects.
The group long-term disability option on the other hand, is provided by an employer in the form of group coverage. Those who seek additional coverage or those who are self-employed or whose employer does not offer disability insurance, may purchase a private and individual long-term disability insurance policy from a private insurance broker.
It is important to note that long-term disability insurance only provides wage replacement in the event of a disability, not healthcare or other medical-related services
While many people think that they do not need to purchase disability insurance due to their gender or age, a 2013 article published in Forbes revealed that between 2009 and 2012, 60 percent of long-term disability insurance recipients through Unum, a large disability insurance provider, were women, and 41 percent were younger than the age of 50.
How do I prove my disability?
Every individual long-term disability policy is different. In order to determine how to prove disability, we need to review your policy. You should have received a copy when you purchased the insurance. Some carriers let you access a copy online. Others have you request a copy from your agent. Regardless of how we get the policy, this is the first step in analyzing your claim.
Once we can review your LTD policy, we can tell you exactly how to prove your disability under the terms of the policy.
Recovering Benefits from a Private Long-Term Disability Policy
If you have been rendered disabled and are no longer able to return to work for a period of time, you may consider recovering benefits from your private long-term disability policy. However, in the event of a disability, battling with an insurance company over the amount of benefits to which you’re entitled can be frustrating and exhausting. And unfortunately, many insurance companies search for ways to deny people the benefits that they deserve.
If you have suffered a disability, filing your long-term disability claim in an accurate and efficient manner is one of the most important parts of recovering benefits.
As such, it’s important that you correctly document your last day at work, your disability and the date that the injury causing your disability occurred. Furthermore, familiarizing yourself with your policy and benefits can be beneficial in getting the compensation that you deserve. Additionally, make sure that you pay attention to deadlines for filing a claim because an insurance company will deny a claim that is not filed within the deadlines specified.
Hiring a Private Long-Term Disability Lawyer
If you are applying for long-term disability benefits or are considering filing suit against your LTD carrier, a private long-term disability attorney can help. An LTD attorney can guide you through the process of filing your claim and filling out your application, provide you with more information about the type of documentation you will need to file your claim and will give you insight regarding what types of long-term disability benefits to which you may be entitled.
