If you have a disability that is preventing you from working—and you have long-term disability coverage either through your employer or coverage that you purchased on your own—you may want to consider filing a claim for long-term disability coverage.
Once you’ve made the decision to stop working, the short answer is, you should file an LTD claim as soon as possible.
Filing a claim is a multi-step process that takes time, usually several months.
One thing to keep in mind is your disability policy’s elimination period. This is the time period during which you must meet the policy’s definition of disability but during which the insurance company will not pay you any benefits.
If you meet the definition of disability after this time period, the insurance company will start paying monthly disability benefits at the end of the elimination period. The most common elimination periods are 90 days or 180 days, but others are possible.
If your elimination period is 90 days, file as soon as you stop working. That way, hopefully by the time the 91st day comes around, the insurance company will have completed its review and will issue you the first monthly benefit. If your elimination period is 180 days, you should file at least 3-4 months before the end of the 180 days. You should not—and do not have to—wait until the end of your elimination period to start your claim.
The goal is to file early enough to avoid any delay in getting your monthly disability benefits.
As soon as you stop working, or just before, you should contact a disability insurance attorney who can help you navigate the waters of filing an LTD claim. It can be a tricky process and if not done properly, can have detrimental impacts later on, including a denial of benefits.
Help from a Lawyer with Expertise in Disability Insurance
This law firm was built to be a disability insurance law firm.
That focus means:
- All our lawyers specialize in disability insurance claims;
- We have experience with every major disability insurance company;
- We have won important long term disability lawsuits.
Our disability lawyers can help you with:
- Submitting a disability insurance claim,
- Appealing a long-term disability denial,
- Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company.
Hiring an experienced disability attorney is important. Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, our lawyers do not have to be located in your state.
Call (800) 969-0488 for a free consultation with an experienced disability attorney. Pay no fees or costs unless you get paid.
