Like many professionals, your most valuable asset is your ability to earn an income. That is, assuming you’re able to work. If you are unable to work due to an illness or injury, your financial obligations do not simply disappear. Would you have the income or financial resources to maintain your lifestyle? For most professionals, the obvious solution is to invest in disability insurance coverage.
The primary goal when purchasing a long-term disability insurance policy is to replace lost income should you ever become unable to work due to an unexpected illness or injury. Unfortunately, many individual and group disability insurance policies are written in such a way that the coverage available is unclear. It is easy for individual disability insurance policyholders who are not trained to read insurance policies to misread or misunderstand an insurance policy.
If you become disabled and need to apply for disability benefits, you may find that the coverage you have purchased is inadequate. This is exactly what insurance companies want to happen. They use the fine print to deny claims and avoid paying disability benefits.
Get a Free Analysis of Your Individual Disability Insurance from the Ortiz Law Firm
Nick A. Ortiz, the founder of the Ortiz Law Firm, has years of experience representing disabled individuals nationwide and is dedicated to excellent client service and outstanding results. He has handled long-term disability appeals and filed lawsuits against major disability insurance companies, including New York Life, Lincoln Financial/Liberty Life, Reliance Standard, Prudential, The Hartford, The Standard, MetLife, Guardian, Unum, Sun Life, and more.
What Is Individual Disability Insurance?
Do you have an individual disability insurance policy or a group policy? This is an important distinction because different rules apply to an individual disability insurance policy. It is almost always better to have an individual policy.
Underwriting
A major difference between individual and group policies is that individual policies are underwritten with respect to the individual purchasing the coverage, whereas group policies are based on certain underwriting assumptions related to the general health of a group of people.
Premium Payments
Individual policies are selected and paid for by the insured. Group coverage, on the other hand, is usually offered and paid for (in whole or in part) by an employer or union.
In some circumstances, an employer will purchase and pay the premiums for an individual policy on behalf of an employee.
Conversely, an individual may personally obtain group LTD coverage unrelated to his or her employment by joining a group that offers group coverage to its members.
Tax Implications
Monthly benefits are tax-free if you pay the insurance premiums yourself. If an employer pays the premiums, you may have to pay taxes on the benefits.
How Do You Evaluate Disability Insurance?
If you are considering or have recently purchased disability insurance, we can help you understand the coverage it provides. As part of our analysis, we will explain what everything means to you in your situation. We will help you understand what you are entitled to and whether there are any deficiencies in your coverage that could be problematic in the future.
Aspects of Your Policy We Will Review
Aspects of your policy that we will review in our analysis include:
- Individual disability vs. group disability
- Definition of disability: total vs. residual disability
- Any occupation, own occupation, or transitional own occupation
- Length of coverage
- The waiting period for disability income benefits (also known as the elimination period)
- Benefit limitations for mental and nervous disabilities
- Benefit limitations for self-reported conditions
- Offset analysis
- Future purchase options
- Available discounts
- Noncancellable policy analysis
- Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
These terms may not make sense right now, but fear not. We will explain this terminology and how it applies to your claim when you apply for long-term disability benefits.
Call the Ortiz Law Firm at (888) 321-8131 or click the button below to submit your request for a disability policy analysis.