Which Type of Long-Term Disability Insurance Do You Have?
Long-term disability insurance comes in two major forms. Which one you have makes difference in the LTD benefits you receive and how to maximize your benefits.
- ERISA plans: These are long-term disability insurance policies you get through work. ERISA stands for the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the federal law that sets the rules for these plans.
- Individual plans: You can also buy long-term disability insurance on your own from an insurance company. State laws govern individual plans.
With ERISA long-term disability insurance, you usually pay lower premiums than individual plans. Your employer may be paying some of the premium. But the amount the policy pays when you make a claim is usually less than an individual plan.
ERISA plans often have tougher rules for when your health problems are severe enough to qualify for benefits, so they’re more likely to deny you.
If your ERISA policy denies your LTD benefits, you’ll likely have to appeal with the insurance company first before you can go to court.
With individual long-term disability insurance, you probably pay more to have coverage but also get more when you make a claim.
You can get individual policies that are more flexible about the types of medical conditions that warrant a claim.
If the insurance company denies your individual LTD benefits, you also may have more flexibility to sue them before waiting to go through the company’s own appeals process.
Different rules in your insurance policy and different laws covering insurance determine how you need to approach your long-term disability claim.
To find out your options, talk to the LTD lawyers at Barnes Disability Advocates for a free consultation.
What LTD Lawyers Say to Watch Out for with Long-Term Disability Claims
Sometimes, the fine print in your policy gives the insurance company an excuse to reject your claim.
Other times, when you’re working with them to resolve the situation, you have to be careful what you agree to.
Our long-term disability lawyers can help you watch out for all of these insurance company moves:
- “Own job” vs. “any job” coverage. Your policy might say you can get benefits as long as your health prevents you from doing your job. Or it could say you must be unable to do any job that exists, a much harder standard. Your policy may also switch from “own job” to “any job” after a period of time, then terminate your benefits.
- Advice to write a simple letter appealing your denial. The insurance company may tell you to just write a letter to appeal their denial of benefits. This isn’t enough. They may reject you anyway and say you’ve now exhausted your appealing option.
- Delaying tactics. The insurance company might set a time for you to respond to their decision, then declare you accept it if you miss the deadline. Or they’ll drag out your appeal until it’s too late to file a lawsuit.
- Giving up your rights. They could offer you a settlement if you agree never to seek more compensation in the future. Or they could try to make you agree that if you ever have problems with the company again, you must go to an arbitration process and can’t sue.
Get an LTD lawyer who…
- Knows how insurance companies operate
- Knows the laws they’re supposed to follow
- Knows the kinds of benefits you should receive
- Negotiates on your behalf
- Takes your case to court if that’s what it takes
Barnes Disability helps you protect the life you worked hard to build before health problems knocked you off balance.
No attorney fee until you secure payment.
Do You Want to Know More About Our Disability Lawyers in Utah?
Barnes Disability also helps with Social Security Disability benefits funded by the taxes you paid when you worked and designed to protect your finances if you lose the ability to work. Our disability attorneys have decades of experience and a mission to help everyday people find peace and dignity in difficult times.
